Book of Mormon Archaeology

The Book of Mormon
Archaeology, Anthropology,
and Historicity
Explorer George D. Potter

And we did come to the land which we called Bountiful,
Because of its much fruit and also wild honey…
1 Nephi 17:5
Figure 1 One of the waterfalls in the magical Darbat Valley in Oman, the upper valley of Khor Rori only 3 miles from where
Nephi mostlikely built his ship. Courtesy of K. Christensen.
1
©George D. Potter, 2018
Published by
The Nephi Project - 2018
George Potter, Explorer/Author Timothy Sedor, ,Explorer/Filmmaker
www.nephiproject.com
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Contents
Introduction: Why believe the Book of Mormon 5
1. The Book of Mormon’s Accurate Description of the Ancient Frankincense Trail 15

2. Discovering The Valley of Lemuel 29
3. Bountiful and Nephi’s Harbor 35
4. The Jaredites 57
5. South America, Geography and the Book of Mormon 67
6. A Nephite Civilization in Ancient Andes 87
7. Remnants of an Ancient Near East Culture in Peru 111
8. Cuzco, a Candidate for the City of Nephi 131
9. Pukara, a Candidate for Zarahemla 157
10. Taraco, a Candidate for the City of Jacobugath 183
11. Nasca, a Candidate for the Land of Bountiful 193
12. Tambo Viejo, a Candidate for the City of Mulek 207
13. A Jaredite and the Dawn of Civilization in the Americas 217
14. The Voyages of Hagoth 233
15. The Book of Mormon Solves a Christmas Mystery 243
Conclusion 251
Selected Bibliography 255
About the author 267
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Acknowledgments
This book would not have been possible without the faithful assistance of the exploring, filming,
authorship, and editing support of my many friends. I cannot possibly mention all those who
have traveled with me on my journeys. However, I must thank my Nephi Project partner,
videographer, and exploring companion, Timothy Sedor; Richard Wellington, who was my
exploring companion, desert guide, co-author of Lehi in the Wilderness, and author of parts of
the first four chapters; Frank Linehan and Conrad Dickson, who helped with the chapters on
Nephi’s Ship and who co-authored with me The Voyages of the Book of Mormon; Dennis Mead ,
editor of this book and the Nephi Project Newsletters, and exploring partners Bruce Santucci,
Stephen Done, Jim Anderson, Satya Nand, Craig Thorsted, Tom Cueller, Michael Bellerson, Jay
Todd, Rich Whaley and so many others.
Open Rights for Translation
Any person can translate and distribute in their native language all or part of this book so long
as they: 1) do not change the meaning of the original English text, 2) do not charge for the
translated text, 3) state the name of the person who translated the text, and 4) give credit for
the original book to The Nephi Project and George D. Potter.
4
It will be as it ever has been.
The world will prove Joseph Smith
a true prophet by circumstantial evidence.
Joseph Smith (Translator of the Book of Mormon)
Introduction
Why Believe the Book of Mormon
Why should we believe in the Book of Mormon? By any measure it is an extraordinary book.
There are millions of people who believe it is the word of God as reveled to prophets who lived
in the ancient Americas. There are also many people who believe it is a fraud dreamed up in the
imaginary mind of a young Joseph Smith. If the Book of Mormon is true, it is the earliest known
eye-witness account of many important historical events that transpired in the Old and New
Worlds. The objective of this book is to show that the Book of Mormon is an actual history
originally recorded in ancient times.
Along with my colleagues, I spent five years and traveled some 75,000 miles on sandy desert
tracks retracing Lehi’s Trail in Arabia. We used advanced maritime computer simulators to plot
the most favorable sea routes for the voyages of the Jaredites, Nephi, Mulek, and Hagoth. I
lived for more than a year in the high Andes of Bolivia and Peru. For the last decade I have
studied the flood of new archaeological discoveries that have been unearthed in the mountains
and coastal plains of Peru. These new discoveries have reshaped how scientists conceptualize
the emergence of civilizations in the New World, and provide striking parallels to the history
recorded in the Book of Mormon.
This book includes highlights from my previous books and also includes exciting new findings. It
is a free book, which I hope you will share will your family and friends.
A Remarkable Book about Exceptional People
The Book of Mormon is a history of two amazing groups of people, the Jaredites and the
Nephites. These two small groups of immigrants brought to the Americas the technology,
culture, and the religion of their homelands. Their history is not that of nomadic drifters,
primitive hunter-gatherers or half-naked primitives living in twig huts atop mounds of earth.
Rather, they were literate, skilled craftsmen, metallurgists, and inspired architects. From their
earliest days in the New World they built great cities, constructed a temple that rivaled
Solomon’s, and highways. They introduced to the New World highly productive farming
techniques and raised herds of sheep and other domesticated animals. Since its publication in
1830, the Book of Mormon has claimed that such sophisticated civilizations took root in the
Americas as far back in antiquity as the third Millennium BC. Yet, it has taken archaeologists
5
nearly another two hundred years to discover that such impressive civilizations existed in
ancient America. Indeed, the remains of Book of Mormon-like civilizations have only recently
been discovered in the Americas along South America’s Pacific shoreline and the adjacent
Andes Mountains.
The location of these ruins should not be a surprise to anyone who thoroughly understands
what Joseph Smith taught. While revisionists have suggested that Joseph Smith believed
otherwise, the Church members who actually knew Joseph Smith and listened to his discourses
knew that it had been revealed to the Prophet that Nephi’s ship landed in what is today the
nation of Chile. Two highly influential apostles of the Church, Elder Orson Pratt and Elder
Franklin D. Richards, repeatedly taught that the Prophet received a revelation that Nephi’s ship
landed at 30 degrees south latitude in South America. Both apostles were called by the Lord
through Joseph Smith, and it goes without saying that apostles are themselves prophets, seers,
and revelators—special witnesses of Christ—and certainly men who would not have taught a
doctrine that conflicted with the teachings of Joseph Smith. Evidence supporting this revelation
to Joseph Smith is that the words thereof were written in the “handwriting of Frederick G.
Williams, Counselor to the Prophet, and on the same page with the body of an undoubted
revelation,” which is now part of the Doctrine and Covenants.1 The Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints even included the revelation that Nephi landed in Chile as a footnote to the
1879 edition of the Book of Mormon.2 Indeed, contrary to the revisionists’ theories, B. H.
Roberts reminds us that the dominant belief among the early Church members was that Joseph
Smith revealed that Nephi landed in South America.3
The artifacts of the civilizations with possible Book of Mormon associations have been
discovered from Columbia in the north to Chile in the south. These early polities included parts
of today’s Columbia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Paraguay, Brazil, and Argentina. Some of these
societies appear to have practiced norms associated with the Law of Moses and the teachings
found in the Book of Mormon. Other societies in the same region were pagans who at times
even performed human sacrifices.
Although it did not exist during Book of Mormon times, the largest and most advanced of the
pre-Columbian Andean civilizations were the Incas, whose capital was in Cusco, Peru. When the
Spanish arrived in Peru, the short-lived Inca Empire was on the verge of collapse. Its king, crown
prince, and the majority of its population had already died from the newly introduced smallpox
virus. As a result, the empire plunged into a bloody civil war. In less than two hundred years,
the Incas, a small elite family from the Cusco Valley, had conquered and ruled over a land mass
larger than the ancient Roman Empire, just to fall to a handful of brutal conquistadors. During
the two centuries before the arrival of the Spanish, the Incas had remodeled many cities,
rebuilt temples, and expanded a highway system that was longer than all the Roman roads
combined. They rebuilt massive stone monuments and fortifications the manner of which even
today’s engineers cannot conceive.
1
Roberts, B. H., New Witness for God, vol. 3., 501.
2
Encyclopedia of Mormonism, vol. 1, “Book of Mormon Geography.”
3
Roberts, 501.
6
The conquistadors described the Inca nobility as being tall and having fairer skin than the
Spanish. The Inca surgeons performed highly skilled brain surgeries that had “significantly
higher” success rates than American Civil War doctors.4 The research by Gary Urton, the
Dumbarton Oaks Professor of Pre-Columbian Studies in the Archeology Department at Harvard
University,5 supports the oral traditions that the Incas ancient ancestors had a written language
that eventually became lost6 (fulfilled prophecy: Jacob 4:1-2). The surviving Incas told the
Spanish that theirs was not the original empire, rather they were only trying to replicate the
golden age of their distant ancestors, the first Incas.
So who then were the original Incas? Every Peruvian school child studies the two legends of the
first Incas. The first oral tradition is of four viracochas (meaning white skinned) brothers who
came to Peru from the sea. The oldest was mean and violent. The youngest brother was kind,
industrious, and introduced a new religion to the natives. The youngest brother became their
first and beloved king. The oldest brother became so violent and disruptive that the youngest
had to take his sisters and separate himself from their cruel sibling. After living for some time at
Lake Titicaca, the youngest brother and his followers eventually settled in the Cusco Valley in
what is today Peru. The Spanish found and destroyed the remains of the first Inca king at the
ruins of Wimpillay in the Cusco Valley. Wimpillay dates to 500 BC.7 As documented in my book,
Nephi in the Promised Land, the legend of the four brothers has undeniable parallels to the
Book of Mormon account of Nephi and his three brothers (Compare to First Nephi).
The second legend is also about the first Inca king, who with his wife, appeared in the Lake
Titicaca region and taught the primitive natives to be clean, to be industrious, to farm, to weave
cloth, and to be kind to each other. Most important, the first king introduced the people to a
new religion. Anthropologists refer to this as the Yaya-Mama (father-mother) religion. The
anthropologists believe the origins of this second legend dates to approximately 500 BC.8 There
are striking comparisons with this tradition and the history of Nephi as recorded in the fifth
chapter of Second Nephi.
Both legends are centered on the great founder of the Incas, their first king. Were these just
myths or did such a man actually appear from the sea and teach the natives how to live and
worship? It was not until 2018, that a three-year study of paternal DNA of two hundred direct
descendants of Inca nobility allowed scientists to conclude that the Inca nobility had a “single
unique patriarch” and that the two legends were probably about the same person who lived
4
Daley, Jason, “Inca Skull Surgeons Had Better Success Rates than American Civil War Doctors,” Smithsonian
Magazine, June 13, 2018, https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/inca-head-crackers-had-better-success-
rates-civil-war-surgeons-180969324/ accessed 27 July 2018.
5
Mann, Charles, 1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbas, (New York: Vintage Books, 2006).
397.
6
Hiltunen, Juha J., Ancient Kings of Peru: The Reliability of the Chronicle of Fernando de Montesinos (Helsinki:
Suomen Historiallinen Sevra, 1999), 354.
7
Bauer, Brian, Ancient Cusco, Heartland of the Inca, (Austin: University of Texas Press, 2004), 157.
8
Kolata, The Tiwanaku, Portrait of an Andean Civilization, (Cambridge, Mass.: Blackwell Publishing, 1993).79–81.
7
both at Lake Titicaca and Cusco.9 In my book, Nephi in the Promised Land I provide compelling
evidence that this “unique patriarch” was Nephi, the first Nephite king, and the initial author of
the Book of Mormon.
Viracocha, the Fair-Skinned God of the Andes
The introduction of the Book of Mormon claims: “The crowning event recorded in the Book of
Mormon is the personal ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ among the Nephites soon after His
resurrection. It puts forth the doctrines of the gospel, outlines the plan of salvation, and tells
men what they must do to gain peace in this life and eternal salvation in the life to come.” The
Book of Mormon declares to the world that Jesus is the Christ and that He visited his followers
in the New World.
Anthropologists have studied the beliefs of the ancient Andean people. They know that the
preeminent God of the Andes has always been Viracocha, the White God. The native people of
the Andes believe that Viracocha, their fair-skinned God, visited their ancestors and that he had
the form of a man, with fair-skin, was bearded, and dressed like someone from Palestine.
Archaeological evidence of the Viracocha worship in Peru reaches as far back 2180 BC. It is the
earliest worship of the fair-skinned God in all the Americas. When he first visited their
ancestors, he healed the sick, forgave sins, shed tears, taught them how to treat one other with
love, and brought the dead forth from their graves. They say that Viracocha wore sandals and a
white robe. The Peruvian white god walked on water and promised to return to them some
day.
It is hard not to draw comparisons between the oral traditions of Viracocha and the account of
Christ’s visit to the New World as recorded in the Book of Mormon. Full documentation of the
oral tradition of Viracocha is also found Nephi in the Promised Land. While the legends of
Viracocha were first recorded by the early Spanish chroniclers, I did not need to read about
Viracocha. I served a mission in the Andean highlands, including assignments in La Paz, Bolivia;
Juliaca, Peru on the Altiplano near Lake Titicaca; and Cusco, Peru. I cannot count how many
times native Peruvian elders who had never heard of the Book of Mormon, recalled with
exactness story of when the White God appeared to their ancestors.
While the oral traditions of the Andean people support the Book of Mormon history, they are
not the focus of this book. The chapters that follow will concentrate on the latest scientific
evidences that document the existence between 2800 BC and 400 AD of the tangible attributes
mentioned in the Book of Mormon. The pages of this book also include citations of historical
records and the findings of my own field research. There are over 600 citations in the
footnotes; the vast majority from non-LDS scholars.
Missing from this book are references to ancient American cultures where no authoritative
empirical evidence has been found for a Nephite or Jaredite-like culture having existed during
Book of Mormon times. Archaeologists have identified fifty-two ancient American cultures that
9
Cortijo, Roberto, “Peruvian Scientists use DNA to Trace Origins of Inca Emperors,” May 26, 2018,
https://phys.corg/news/2018/05-peruvian-scientist-dna-inca-emperors.html. Accessed June 2018.
8
existed just during the Book of Mormon period (6 in North America, 5 in the Caribbean, 6 in
Mesoamerica, and 35 in South America).10 Most of these cultures were primitive Neolithic
villagers or hunter-gather nomadic tribes that in no way approached the advanced level of
civilization described in the Book of Mormon. Undoubtedly, only a very few of the ancient
American cultures were part of the Book of Mormon narrative and even these societies would
have experienced periods of righteous living as well as long periods when unrighteous
behaviors were practiced.
Further, this book does not reference non-empirical based theories of Book of Mormon
geography. While well intended, the authors of these geographic models have taken the few
vague clues found in the Book of Mormon and fabricated maps for the Book of Mormon sites
based on their highly subjective assumptions and personal interpretations of what the
scriptures state. They claim their models are accurate based on the odd notion of “internal
logic.” The rational for these maps is that until the geographic details of the Book of Mormon
are identified, there is no merit in verifying the maps’ validity through archaeological
evidence.11 If we lived in the Dark Ages such logic might have passed as a scholarly defense of
the Book of Mormon. Naïve thinking on this order conjures up visions of standing in the court of
Isabella I and Ferdinand and hearing their court priests argue against Columbus stating that the
royal maps clearly show that the world is flat and rides through the universe on the back of a
turtle. Each proponent claims their map of Book of Mormon lands is the most accurate. Yet,
after thousands of archaeological excavations, there is still no compelling scientific evidence
within the boundaries any of these maps north of Panama that support the theory that a
Jaredite or Nephite like civilization existed therein.
Patience with emerging of DNA technology
DNA analysis is a new and exciting tool which will one day prove extremely helpful in
discovering where the Book of Mormon history took place. Genetics is a new science with
limited technology for identifying small ancient subgroups within a much greater population.
DNA scientist Michael F. Whiting warns: “It would be the pinnacle of foolishness to base one’s
testimony” of the Book of Mormon “on the results of a DNA analysis.” The Americas were
populated by hundreds of Amerindian tribes long before the arrival of very small clusters of
Book of Mormon colonists from the Near East. Furthermore, with the genocides experienced by
the Jaredites and Nephites, their genetic markers discontinue over 1,400 years ago.
Even finding ancient Lamanite DNA markers among living populations of Native Americans will
be extreme difficult. This is due to the admixture of European colonizers with non-Indians. A
study published in 2012 in the journal of Genetics and Molecular Biology reported the
prevalence of the European male Y-chromosome Q1a3 among 68 populations and 1,814 South
Amerindian individuals, indicating that interpopulation mixing took place during colonial times
10
Wikipedia: List of pre-Columbian Cultures, accessed March 13, 2010.
11
Clark, John E., “A Key for Evaluating Nephite Geographies,” Review of Books on the Book of Mormon 1 (1989):
21; reprinted as John E. Clark, “Revisiting ‘A Key for Evaluating Nephite Geographies’,” Mormon Studies
11
Review 23/1 (2011): 13–14. or Sorenson, John L. Images of Ancient America: Visualizing Book of Mormon Life
(Provo, Utah: Research Press, 1998), 188.
9
even among isolated populations.12 The scientists analyze DNA and then use Bayesian statistics
to estimate when and where genome changes occurred in the ancestors of the present day
populations. It is not an exact science, and the widespread intermixing with Europeans makes
drawing conclusions about ancient Amerindian populations based on paternal DNA of current
populations difficult. For example, a study in 2018 in the journal of Molecular Genetics and
Genomics reported a DNA study of twelve royal Inca families who are putative descendants of
the Inca imperial family. The scientists discovered that their DNA included haplotypes R, E, I and
T which are not Native American but Eurasian in lineage. However, they could not determine if
the Eurasian DNA existed before or after the post-Columbian colonization.13
An earlier study by the LDS owned Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation reported that
the only uniquely Hebrew DNA marker (Colen modal haplotype) found among American native
populations was in Bolivia (part of ancient Peru), Columbia and Brazil14. However, this study
was found to be questionable because nearly all native population groups have to some degree
intermarried into people of European, Asian, Middle Eastern or African ancestry. Thus, it would
be difficult to isolate from modern Native Amerindians paternal DNA markers from Laman,
Lemuel, or the sons of Ishmael. Even more unlikely will be identifying paternal markers from
any Jaredite or Nephite males who survived the genocide of circa 400 AD, since their DNA
would have been completely diluted over time through DNA degradation.
It might be even more difficult to find mitochondrial (mtDNA) markers in modern populations
of descendants of the Lamanites. If my assumption is correct, the Lamanites resulted from a
handful of Middle Eastern men, namely, Laman, Lemuel, and the sons of Ishmael intermarrying
with women from large Amerindian tribes. As unorthodox as the local colonization hypothesis
of the Book of Mormon people might seem, it helps explain the multitudes of people and the
wars, and that took place during the first generation of the Nephites in the Promised Land. It
would explain why the skins of the Lamanite children were darker than those of the Nephites
and why their culture was describe by Nephi as that of an “idle people, full of mischief and
subtlety, and did seek in the wilderness for beast of prey” (2 Nephi 5:24), and why Enos wrote
that many of them eat only raw meat (Enos 1:20). These are not the behaviors one would
expect from the children of Israelite mothers who were mentored by their parents in the strict
rules of hygiene associated with the Law of Moses. Since Israelite lineage is through a child’s
mother, it explains why Nephi wrote that the “curse” was not darker skin, but being “cut off
from the presence of the Lord” (no longer of the covenant people), and why Nephi instructed
his people not to mix with them, for the same “curse” would befall them (no longer of the
house of Israel) (2 Nephi 5:20,23). If it is true that the original Lamanite men married wives
12
Bisso-Machado, Rafael, Maria Catira Bortolini, Francisco Mauro Salzano, “Uniparental Genetic Markers in South
Amerindians,”Genetic and Molecular Biology, 2012 April-June; 35 (2): 365-387.
13
Sandoval, Jose R., Daniela R. Lacerda, Marilza S. Jota, Ronald Elward, Oscar Acosta, Donaldo Pinedo, Pierina
Danos, Cinthia Cuellar, Susana Revollo, Fabricio R. Santos, and Ricardo Fujita, “Genetic Ancestry of Families of
Putative Inka Descent,” Molecular Genetics and Genomics, 03 March 2018,
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs00438-018-1427-4, accessed 25 July, 2018.
14
Groote, Michael de, “Hebrew DNA found in South America?” Deseret News, (Salt Lake City), 12 May 2008,
http://www.deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,700225191,00.html.
10
from Native America tribes, then the Lamanites children would be from the seed of Lehi, but
their entire mitochondria DNA would be from their non-Hebrew native ancestral mothers.
The resulting impact on DNA markers would be identical to the evolutionary influence the
European colonizers had on the current DNA of South American native tribes. The 2012 reports
state: “Asymmetrical sex-mediated admixture was common during the first centuries of South
American colonization, and involved mostly European men and Amerindian/African women.
The main consequences of this historical contract was the formation of mestizos and the
present-day national societies; the former are characterized by a composite genome, with the
majority of Y-chromosomes being of European origin, while their mtDNA derives from
Amerindian or African sources.”15 The study concludes that “The diversity of the markers made
it difficult to establish a general picture of Y-chromosome variability in the populations
studied.” In other words, today’s Lamanite descendants would possess native Amerindian
mtDNA only from their Indian mothers.
Advances of Ancient DNA Analysis
Fortunately, advances of ancient DNA analysis might help identify candidates for the long lost
Jaredites and Nephites. By extracting and analyzing DNA from ancient skeletons, genetic
markers can be identified for populations that no longer exist or which through evolution can
no longer be found in modern populations. For example, a study of early skeletons, headed by
Pontus Skoglund of the Harvard Department of Genetics, found that ancient Amazon
populations from South America had DNA markers from Australasians. The article was titled,
“Genetic Evidence for Two Populations of the Americas.”16
The process sounds easy, however, it’s like finding the proverbial needle in the haystack. The
scientist must find human remains that are uncontaminated, contain enough remaining DNA
material for testing, carefully attract DNA and process the samples. Further, in our case, the
skeletons must date to the Book of Mormon period and be from the area where the Jaredites
or Nephites lived and died.
There have been several claims of how ancient Native American tribes had European or Middle
Eastern DNA markers in their genes. But these are misleading. For example, in 2013 the
National Geographic reported a University of Copenhagen study concluded that “Nearly one-
third of Native American genes come from West Eurasian people linked to the Middle East and
Europe, rather than entirely from East Asian as previously thought, according to a new
sequence of genome.”17 While the study could not determine when the West Eurasian genes
were introduced to the Americas, the DNA for the genome sequence was taken from a 24,000
15
Bisso-Machado, Genetics and Molecular Biology.
16
Skogllund, Pontus, Swapan Mallick, Maria Catira Bortolini, Niru Chennagiri, Tabita Humemeier, Maria Luiza Petzl-
Erler, Francisco Mauro Salzano, Nick Patterson, David Reich, “Genetic Evidence for Two Founding Populations of
the Americas, Nature, September 2015, 3:525 (7567), 104-108.
17
Handwerk, Brian "Great Surprise"—Native Americans Have West Eurasian Origins” National Geographic, 22
November 2013, https://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2013/11/131120-science-native-american-people-
migration-siberia-genetics/ accessed 7 July 2018.
11
year-old Siberian skeleton and actually supports the theory that the Native Americas came to
the New World across the Bering Sea land bridge thousands of years before the Book of
Mormon period.
However, recent ancient DNA studies are encouraging. Here are two examples of how ancient
DNA studies are helping identify the Book of Mormon lands. When I published my book Nephi
in the Promised Land in 2009, I proposed that the Nephites left there capital of Zarahemla on
the Altiplano of Peru and relocated to Bountiful in the valleys surrounding Nasca, Peru circa 200
BC.
A study published in 2014 by a highly credible team of archaeologists is interesting. It was based
on skeleton samples from the Nasca valleys in southern Peru. The team took 207 DNA samples
from human remains dating from circa 840 BC to 1450 AD. The team’s DNA analysis was
reproduced by the ancient DNA laboratories at the University of Adelaide and Yale University.
Following strict precautions common to ancient DNA analysis, the scientists came to some very
interesting DNA conclusions. They discovered that there was a significant increase in the
population of the Nasca area starting around 200 BC. This would be consistent with the Book of
Mormon events when the Nephites shifted their capital to Bountiful in Nasca. The scientists
also found that there was a “genetic discontinuity” and a decrease in the population of the
area around 440 AD, the time when the majority of the Nephites were exterminated. While the
scientists believe these events could have been attributed to changes in the climate, they found
no corresponding climate change data for that time period. They declared in their report to the
United States National Academy of Science that “alternative demographic factors such as mass
mortality cannot be excluded at this stage.”18
But were the ancients who lived in the Nasca area during Book of Mormon times the people of
Bountiful? Perhaps. A 2018 ancient DNA analysis conducted in the Lakehead University lab in
Canada and two labs in the United States indicated that DNA samples taken from a 2,000-year-
old skull near Nasca have only one discernible MtDNA haplogroup, U2e1. This rare haplogroup
is not associated with other Native American populations, rather it is of European and Middle
Eastern ancestors.19 This DNA study is not from what is considered a scholarly source and
should be considered preliminary and speculative until proven through further independent
tests.
Could Joseph Smith Have Authored the Book of Mormon?
Joseph Smith was only 25 years old when he published the Book of Mormon in 1830. The young
prophet claimed that the Book of Mormon was an ancient record that had been inscribed on
gold plates. He claimed that an angel sent by God had entrusted the golden plates into his care,
18
Fehren-Schmitz, Lars and Wolfgang Haak, Bertil Machte, Florian Maasch, Bastien Llamas, Else Tomasto Cagigao,
Volker Sossna, Karsten Schittek, johny Isla Cuadrado, Bernhard Eitel, Markus Reindel, Climate Changes Underlies
Global Demographic, Genetic, and “Cultural Transitions in pre-Columbian Southern Peru.”, edited by Charles
Stanish, UCLA, Proceeding of the National Academy of Science, PNAS, July 1, 2014, vol. iii, no. 26, 9443-9448.
19
Latest DNA Results for the Elongated Skulls of Paraca, Part 1 of 4: The Red Haired Baby,
https://hiddenincatours.com/dna-results-elongated-skulls-paracas-part-1-4-baby/ accessed May 2018.
12
and that by the power of God he was able to translate the sacred history. As would be
expected, Smith’s critics have alleged that he was not the true author. This book will provide
substantial evidence that it was impossible that Joseph Smith or anyone else in 1830 could have
concocted the historical events and places described in the Book of Mormon.
Recent evidence indicates that Joseph Smith dictated the translation of the Book of Mormon in
an incredibly short time, roughly sixty-three days. While carrying out the process of translation
of the text, he also had to carry on his everyday life. During the translation period, we know
that Joseph also moved on horse and buggy from Harmony, Pennsylvania to Fayette, New York,
made at least one (and possibly two) trips to Colesville, New York thirty miles away, received
and recorded thirteen revelations that are now sections of the Doctrine and Covenants,
converted and baptized Hyrum and Samuel Smith, preached a few days and baptized several
people near Fayette, acquired the Book of Mormon copyright and began arrangements for the
Book of Mormon’s publication, sought employment, experienced manifestations with the Three
and Eight Witnesses, received the Aaronic and Melchizedek priesthoods, as well as taking time
to perform all the household chores of a loving husband.
Joseph Smith made amazingly few changes in the Book of Mormon. About a quarter of the
original manuscript is held by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and the pages hold
few crossed out passages. The vast majority of the changes that were made when the book
went to publication were for spelling, capitalization, punctuation, and grammar. This is all the
more remarkable when one considers that his wife, Emma reported that in the late 1820’s
Joseph:
Could neither write nor dictate a coherent and well worded letter, let alone
dictate a book like the Book of Mormon…The larger part of this labor *of
translation] was done in my presence and where I could see and know what was
being done…During no part of it did Joseph Smith have any *manuscripts+ or
book of any kind from which to read or dictate except the metallic [sic] plates
which I knew he had. If, he had had anything of the kind he could not have
concealed it from me.20
She added to her son:
I am satisfied that no man could have dictated the writing of the manuscripts
unless he was inspired; for when acting as his scribe, your father would dictate
to me hour after hour, and when returning, after meals, or after interruptions,
he would at once begin where he had left off without either seeing the
manuscript or having any portion of it read to him. This was a usual thing for him
to do. It would have been improbable that a learned man could do this, and, for
one so ignorant and unlearned as he was, it was simply impossible.21
20
Smith, Emma, Statement to Joseph Smith III, February 1979, Cited in Saint’s Herald 26 (October 1, 1879)289-90
21
Ludlow, Daniel H.A ., A Companion to Your Study of the Book of Mormon, (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1979),
24.
13
As you read this book, please keep in mind that Joseph Smith was a farm boy from upstate New
York with barely a third-grade level education and with no available libraries or other resources
that could have provided him even a scant knowledge of either ancient Arabia or South
America.
So, why believe the Book of Mormon
If you harbor doubts about the Book of Mormon, I hope that this book can help you desire to
start believing again. At least to believe enough to once again read its pages until you desire to
revisit Moroni’s promise:
And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask
God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if
ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will
manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost. (Moroni 10:4)
14
We traveled for the space of four days,
nearly a south-southeast direction, and
we did pitch our tents again; and we did
call the place Shazer. 1 Nephi 16:13
Chapter One
The Book of Mormon’s Accurate Description of the Ancient Frankincense Trail
Nephi described in some detail his family’s

wilderness journey from Jerusalem to the place
where he constructed a ship and embarked for
a promised land that was far away across the
many waters. As recorded in the Book of
Mormon, his account includes the length of
some of the segments of their long journey, the
directions they traveled, terrain features, the
relative fertility of the lands they traveled
through, descriptions of some of the camps
they stayed at, and even specific place-names
of some of the locations they visited. Since his
family camped on the shore of the Red Sea (1
Nephi 2:5) and traveled by land from there in a
south-southeast direction (1 Nephi 16:13,14,33)
for many days and eventually turned east, we
can conclude that they were traveling down the
Arabian peninsula, otherwise they would have
eventually found themselves facing the Red
Sea.
Only one trail existed down western Arabia in

Lehi’s time, the ancient trade route known as the Frankincense trail. The desert trek ran in a
steady south-southeast direction until it turned east (1 Nephi 17:1) in what is today is Yemen
and continued from there to its end at the Frankincense harbor and shipbuilding port of Khor
Rori in today’s Oman (1 Nephi 17:8). The Frankincense Trail derived its name from the product
that was primarily transported along it, frankincense, a sweet smelling sap of the frankincense
tree (Boswelia sacra).The southern Arabians became wealthy on the sale of this aromatic,
highly prized by the ancients. It was used in perfume, medicine, embalming, and in religious
worship. At the time of Lehi, the main place where frankincense grew naturally was southern
Arabia, with the most highly prized coming from Dhohar region of what is today Oman. Around
600 BC, the Greek poetess Sapho wrote of frankincense and myrrh. The Persian Emperor Barius
15
(521-486 BC) received one thousand Babylonian talents in weight, nearly twenty-five tons, of
frankincense annually as a “voluntary tribute” from the Arabs.22 Herodotus in the fifth century
BC recorded that two and a half tons of frankincense were burnt annually in the temple of Bel
Al Babylon.23 An estimated three thousand tons of frankincense were sent to Greece and Rome
each year at the peak of the incense trade in the second century AD24
To benefit from the immense trade in incense, Arabian tribes who struggled to survive in their
hellish desert land collaborated to create and support a 2,110 mile-long trade route25. This long
supply system was used by huge caravans to haul frankincense from Oman in southern Arabia
to Egypt, Baghdad, and Damascus. It was the only trail that existed in western Arabia until well
over a thousand years after Lehi’s time.26 Lehi would have had no other choice than to have
taken the Frankincense trail, for it provided the only sources of water, food, provisions and
protection from outlaws. Without these life-sustaining resources, Lehi’s party would have
perished in the Arabian desert within a few short days.27
The question begs to be answered, “Does the Book of Mormon accurately describe a journey
down the Arabian Frankincense Trail in the sixth century BC?” Keeping this question in mind,
remember that at the time Joseph Smith translated the Book of Mormon, only 25 percent of
the over two thousand-mile long course of the trail had been seen and subsequently described
in writing by westerners (Verthema, Wild, and Pitt).28 The accounts that did exist lacked
specifics and were considered highly unreliable. It is extremely unlikely that Joseph Smith had
access to even these vague accounts. The Frankincense trail was located on the inland or
eastern side of the Red Sea shoreline mountains in Arabia. So scanty was the West’s knowledge
of this area, the distinguished explorer Sir Richard Francis Burton wrote in 1878: “The eastern
frontier is still unexplored, and we heard of ruins far in the interior.”29
Into the Wilderness
In 1 Nephi chapter 2, Nephi gives us the first clues about the journey, namely, that they
departed into the wilderness (v. 4) and came down by the borders near the shore of the Red
Sea. Because the Jews were actively seeking Lehi’s life, we can assume that after leaving
Jerusalem Lehi headed immediately for the wilderness on his way to Arabia. Lehi would have
22
Mϋller, W. W. “Weihrauch,” suppl. 15, col. 708, lines 40-58, Groom, Nigel, Frankincense and Myrrh, A Study of
the Arabian Incense Trade (London: Longman, 1981),60.
23
Hawley, Donald, Oman and Its Renaissance, Jubilee edition. (London: Stacey Publications, 1997), 245.
24
Abercrombie, Thomas, “Arabia’s Frankincense Trail,” National Geographic 168m no. 4 (“October 1984) 487.
25
Groom, Nigel, Frankincense and Myrrh, A Study of the Arabian Incense Trade (London: Longman, 1981),213.
26
Al Saud, Abdullah Saud, “Domestication of Camels and Inland Trading Routes in Arabia”, Atlal, The Journal of
Saudi Arabian Archeology, 14 (1996)131,132.
27
See a complete discussion of why Lehi had to have taken the Frankincense Trail, George Potter and Richard
Wellington, Lehi in the Wilderness, chapter four, “Lehi’s Trail to Southern Arabia,” (Springville, UT, Cedar Fort,
2003), 53-72.
28
Freeth, Zahra and Victor Winston, Explorers of Arabia, From the Renaissance to the End of the Victorian Era,
(London: George Allen and Unwin, 1978).
29
Burton, Richard Francis, Gold-Mines of Midian, and the Ruined Midianite Cities (Cambridge, Eng.: Oleander,
1979), 105.
16
wished to travel quickly, so he would no doubt have chosen an existing route in order to
escape. For this reason, I doubt if he would have followed the trails to the west and south,
which passed through lands controlled by Zedekiah. We can start by asking, “Where was the
nearest wilderness on route to Arabia from Jerusalem?”
Jeremiah spoke of “the Arabian in the wilderness” (“Jer. 3:2). The linguist, Dr. Hugh W. Nibley
believed that the great Arabian desert was Nephi’s wilderness30. He reminded us that the word
wilderness “has in the Book of Mormon the same connotation as in the Bible, and usually refers
to desert country.”31 Richard Wellington reasons that the closest wilderness to Jerusalem would
have been “the wilderness of Judea” (Matt. 3:1) where John the Baptist ministered and
baptized in the River Jordan. Thus the quickest way for Lehi to go into the wilderness would
have been due east, using the existing road through the wilderness of Judea and then five miles
further to where the main ancient trade route to Arabia started, “the Way of the Wilderness.”
The Way of the Wilderness was one of the main branches of the Frankincense Trail. Today a
modern highway follows the ancient trail and is still called the Desert (Wilderness) Highway or
“the Way of the Wilderness” (2 Sam. 15:23-28). The Way of the Wilderness trail ran down the
east, or arid side of the Se’ir Mountains. Instead of farmlands, here is found a desert, a
wilderness. The safest and most expedient way for Nephi’s party to have reached Arabia was to
go east into the wilderness across the Jordan River and then to take the desert trail south to be
outside the jurisdiction of Judean authorizes. The Book of Mormon’s reference that they fled
into a wilderness is correct. As we shall see, it is also accurate in noting that they came to a
river of water after three days travel into “the wilderness” because Arabia was not only a
physical wilderness, it was also considered a geo-political one in Nephi’s time.
The Borders Near and Nearer the Red Sea
The Book of Mormon claims that once Lehi reached the wilderness (Arabia) that he traveled
“down *south+ by the borders near the shore of the Red Sea; and he traveled in the wilderness
in the borders which are nearer the Red Sea” (1 Nephi 2:5). I learned from the Arabs that the
name of the mountains in northwest Arabia, the Hejaz, meant the “borders”. In the Semitic
language, the words for mountain and borders share a common derivation. That is, the Hebrew
word gebul means borders. Gebul cognates with Arabic jabal (jebel, djebel), which means
mountains.32 Later I learned that linguist and historian Nibley published this fact many years
earlier. Subsequently, Dr. Nibley informed me also that in the ancient Mesopotamian and
Egyptian languages the word borders meant mountains.33
Knowing the meaning of the word borders in the Book of Mormon is important for it illustrates
the accuracy of Joseph Smith’s translation. Historically, the great desert wilderness of Arabia
started at the northern tip of the Gulf of Aqaba. Nephi first noted that they traveled in the
mountains near the shore of the Red Sea. Next he described them traveling in the mountains
30
Nibley, Huge W, personal conversations with the author, 2000.
31
Nibley, Hugh, Old Testament and Related Studies, Ed. John W. Welch, Gary P. Gillulm, and don E. Norton, The
Collected Worksof Hugh Nibley, vol. I (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book: Provo, Utah: FARMS, 1986) 135.
32
Anonymous F.A.R.M.S review notes to the author, July 1998.
33
Conversation between High Nibley and author at Brigham Young University, August 31, 2001.
17
nearer the Red Sea. Nephi is thus informing us that as one travels south into Arabia there is a
mountain range near the Red Sea. Furthermore, after a short distance, one discovers two
mountain ranges, and that in the one nearer the Red Sea is where his father Lehi camped in the
Valley of Lemuel. My companions and I have traveled the entire route from the northern end
of the Gulf of Aqaba of the Red Sea to the valley we believe is the Valley of Lemuel. What we
witnessed is exactly the scene described in the Book of Mormon – first, a mountain range
jetting up just a few miles from the Red Sea and later, two mountain ranges separated by the
valley called the Wadi I’fal, one range of mountains near the Red Sea, the other nearer the Red
Sea with cliffs climbing directly out of the Red Sea to a height of 6,000 feet. Today, one does not
need to travel by camel or vehicle to see for themselves the borders in Arabia near the Gulf of
Aqaba. Modern technologies, such as Google Earth satellite maps with altitude readings, can
allow anyone to observe these mountain ranges.
Valley of Lemuel – River Laman
In the sixth century BC, the last outpost of civilization before entering the great Arabian
wilderness was the city of Ezion-geber. Today, the ruins of the city are found at the northern
end of the Gulf of Aqaba. In Lehi’s era, control of city shifted between the Egyptian or
Babylonian empires. Traveling into Arabia from Ezion-geber meant leaving civilization and
entering a lawless wilderness controlled by whichever dominate Arab tribe controlled a given
area.
Nephi wrote that his family traveled three days in the wilderness before coming to an
impressive valley and a river of continuously flowing water that emptied into the Red Sea. Yet,
anyone who has traveled in Arabia knows that finding a river of water anywhere in this driest of
deserts is next to impossible. The Saudi Arabian Ministry of Agriculture and Water, with the
assistance of the U.S. Geological Service (U.S.G.S.), spent forty-four years surveying the
kingdom’s water resources. Their study consisted of seismic readings, surface and aerial
surveys, and even land satellite photo analysis. The Ministry and the U.S.G.S. found no rivers or
streams in all of Saudi Arabia.34
The easiest and most logical way to prove that the Book of Mormon is false, or conversely true,
is to follow Nephi’s instructions and drive down the Arabian shoreline of the Red Sea to see if
there is a river of continuously flowing water in a desert that scientists believe is a riverless
land. That is precisely what Timothy Sedor, Bruce Santucci and I did. Confidently, we headed
south along the shoreline into Arabia in our four-wheel-drive truck. Since a loaded camel can
only travel approximately 75 miles in three days, we knew that we needed to find a river before
our trip odometer reached the maximum distance.
Nephi wrote that they came down “by” (1 Nephi 2:5) the mountains (borders) that were near
the mountains by the Red Sea, the Se’ir/Hijaz range. As we started driving south, to our right
were the waters of the Red Sea and a short distance to the east were the mountains. After 25
miles we came to the town of Haql, the site of a caravan halting stop on the Frankincense trail.
34
The Ministry of Agriculture and Waters, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Water Atlas of Saudi Arabia, xv.
18
From Haql the caravan trail headed east by the mountains near the Red Sea and then south
through the Wadi I’fal. It should be remembered that initially Lehi was not following a trail to
southern Arabia. He was only searching for a place of refuge, not yet knowing he would be
traveling to a promised land. Therefore we ignored the Frankincense trail and continued
following only Nephi’s directions. After another 15 miles, we came to the shoreline mountains,
which extended directly into the sea and blocked our passage. These were the mountains
“nearer” the Red Sea. To our left was the only valley that led into the mountains that we had
passed since leaving Haql. If this were Lehi’s trail, then he had no choice but to enter this wadi
(valley). We checked Nephi’s instructions, “and he traveled in the wilderness in the borders
which are nearer the Red Sea” (1 Nephi 2:5, italics added). We knew these were the mountains
“nearer” the sea and Nephi wrote that they went “in” them.
We entered the wadi and followed it east for six miles and then south for three more miles. The
valley’s bed was good for camels. The wadi finally ended at a rise that opened into another
wadi that led south. It was this wadi that really impressed us. It ran straight through the
mountains. None of us had seen such a wadi in Midian. It was long and straight and had no
obvious exits. As Timothy put it, “if Lehi was a bowling ball, he would have just kept rolling
down this wadi until the ball came to its end.” In other words if Lehi entered this wadi, he
would have followed it to its natural end. We drove down the wadi noticing as we went that its
foliage was typical of Midian--practically none. Here and there we saw an occasional acacia tree
barely hanging on to life. Certainly there were no signs of water, let alone a river! Our trail
odometer read seventy miles, and the wadi had the same arid landscape. Suddenly the wadi
turned west and headed directly toward the tallest shoreline mountains. Three miles later,
having used only Nephi’s directions, we found ourselves inside a great granite canyon. Stepping
outside our truck, we found ourselves standing next to a river of continually flowing water. That
was over twenty years ago and the river is still flowing. Again, one can take their own journey of
discovery by using Google Earth and following the Book of Mormon’s instructions to the Wadi
Tayyib al-Ism.
Shazer
When the time came, the family left the Valley of Lemuel and traveled on to the next place
where Lehi camped. By this time, Lehi’s family was on a mission to go to a place where they
could build a ship and cross the many waters to a promised land. Nephi wrote, “we did pitch
our tents again and we did call the name of the place Shazer” (1 Ne 16:13). Fortunately, Nephi
had given us a number of clues in his text. He informs us that after leaving the valley they
departed into the wilderness (1 Nephi 16:12) traveling in nearly a south-southeast direction (1
Nephi 16:13). They halted at Shazer so they could hunt (1 Nephi 16:14). After leaving Shazer,
they were still in the mountains (“borders near the Red Sea”, 1 Nephi 16:14). Given the
description of their course and the old maps of the Frankincense trail, it was obvious that they
had rejoined the trade route that led to southern Arabia and the Indian Ocean.
Regarding Shazer, Hugh Nibley wrote, “The name is intriguing. The combination shajer is quite
common in Palestinian place-names; it is a collective meaning ‘trees,’ and many Arabs
19
(especially in Egypt) pronounce it shazher.”35 Arabic place-name expert, Nigel Groom used a
number of variations of the same place-name, Shajir being one of them, identical to Nibley’s
“Shajer.” Groom’s definition of Shajir is: “A valley or area abounding with trees and shrubs.” 36
From what we believe is the Valley of Lemuel, we drove our trucks east to rejoin the
Frankincense trail in the Wadi I’fal. Once back on the trade route, we continued along the trail’s
south-southeast course. In ancient times, travelers on the trail were only allowed to stop and
pitch tents at one of the trail’s organized “halts.” The halts had water in the form of a well,
provisions for people and camels, and a fort, called a kellas, that guarded the well and the
paying guests from plundering outlaws. Nephi wrote that they left their tents at Shazer and
went “forth to slay food for our families” (1 Nephi 16:14).
Armed with this information we followed dirt trails of what was once the trade route. Our
research of the old trail identified the nearest halt on the trail was located in the Wadi Al-
Aghra37, some 60 miles from our candidate for the Valley of Lemuel. What we knew when we
started our search was that the Police General of the area told us that mountains above Wadi
Al-Aghra offer the best hunting of Ibex and mountain goat in the entire region. What we only
learned once we reached the wadi was that it was an amazing oasis, dotted with palm and
tamarisk trees from its western start at the Red Sea all the way to its eastern end where the
ruins of the trail halt (kella) are located below the towering Hejaz Mountains. There is no other
valley within a hundred miles with such an abundance of trees. If Lehi halted at wadi Aghra, it
was certainly a place they would have called Shazer. It is also the camp that provided the best
opportunity for hunting in the entire region.
Returning to Dr. Nibley’s insights on the place name Shazer.

He indicated that in the sixth century BC, the time of Lehi,
Shazer would have been written Segor. In Arabic, only the
consonants are written, not the vowels. Also, when Arabic is
translated into western languages, the different vowels are
placed back into the text by different translators. Thus an
old French map of the where the frankincense trees grow in
southern Arabia shows both the old and newer spellings of
Shazer but with different letters used, i.e., the map, “Seger
ou Schajar.” Remember that the Arabic spelling of the Seger
Figure 2 French map showing Seger ou Schajar is “Sgr.”
35
Nibley, Hugh W., Old Testament and Related Studies, ed. John W. Welch, Gary P. Gillulm, and Don E. Norton, The
Collected Works of Hugh Nibley, vol. 1 (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book; Provo, Utah: FARMS 1988), 78-79.
36
Groom, Nigel, Dictionary of Arabic Topography and Placenames, (Beirut: Librairie du Liban, London: Longman,
1983), s.v. “shajir”.
37
Potter, George and Richard Wellington, Lehi in the Wilderness, (Springville, Utah: Cedar Fort: 2003), 74.
MacDonald, M.C.A. “North Arabian in the First Millennium, E.C.E.” In Civilizations of the Ancient Near East, Ed. Jack
Sasson, 4 vol, (New York: Scribner, 1995) 2:1350; Ingrahm et al., “Saudi Arabian Comprehensive Survey,” 71-74,
plate 66., Musil, Alois, The Northern Hijaz – A Topographical Itinerary, (New York: Published under the patronage
of the Czech Academy of Sciences and Arts and of Charles R. Crane, 1926), 303.
20
In a truly amazing discovery, I found an old Egyptian
map that was used by pilgrims going from Cairo in
Egypt to Mecca in Arabia. The map is called Egyptus.
The pilgrims followed the course of the old
frankincense route. The first halt that was shown south-
east of what we believe is the Valley of Lemuel was
named on the map Segir (Sgr), the sixth century BC
spelling of Shazer.
Figure 3 Map Egyptus showing Segir

(Shazer)
Most Fertile Parts
If discovering that the Book of Mormon place-name Shazer still exists on maps is not enough
proof, an even more remarkable Book of Mormon place-name can be identified for the next
area Nephi described that they traveled. The young prophet makes an interesting statement
when he wrote that after leaving Shazer they were “keeping in the most fertile parts of the
wilderness, which were in the borders near the Red Sea” (1 Nephi 16:14). Nephi tells us that
while they are still traveling in the mountains (borders), that there were areas of fertility and
that the trail passed through them. Indeed, the ancient trade route continued through the
mountain valleys of northwest Arabia from Shazer to what is today the city of Medina. After
leaving Medina, the Frankincense route completely avoided mountains until it reached its end
in Dhofar, Oman. The Book of Mormon confirms this fact for after leaving the most fertile parts
Nephi never mentions again mountains in the Old World.
The famous explorer Sir Richard Burton described the Hijaz, the mountains of northwest Arabia.
in these words, “Nowhere had I seen a land in which the earth’s anatomy lies so barren, or one
richer in volcanic or primary formations.”38 If Joseph Smith had made up the Book of Mormon,
one has to wonder what could have possessed him to state that there were “most fertile parts”
in this type of landscape. Here would be an obvious place to show that the Book of Mormon
was a fraud. Yet what might at first seem to be a great flaw in Nephi’s text is actually one of the
most compelling witnesses for its historical accuracy. Not only were the large oasis towns
mostly located on the Frankincense trail but also each of these oases had a farming community
associated with it.
38
Taylor, Andrew Traveling the Sands, Sagas of Exploration in the Arabian Peninsula, (Dubai: Emirates Printing,
1995), 17.
21
Here is yet another compelling argument supporting the veracity of Joseph Smith’s translation.
In pre-Islamic times there was a series of villages found along the 215-mile-long section of the
Frankincense Trail which incorporated the twelve trail halts settlements between Dedan and
Medina. They, were known as the Qura ‘Arabiyyah, or the “Arab Villages.”39 These villages with
their cultivated lands were linked together by the Frankincense Trail. Surrounded by thousands
of square miles of barren wilderness, the cultivated lands of the Arab Villages stood out from
the surrounding desert like pearls adorning a chain along the south-southeast course of the
trail. These villages are located in valleys surrounded by mountains, thus Nephi’s reference to
fertile parts in the “borders” or “mountains” is in exact harmony with the geography of this
section of the Frankincense trail.
The old name for this area is interesting in light of the fact Nephi refers to it as “the most fertile
parts.” According to the Saudi Arabian Department of Antiquities and Museums, wadi Ula
(Qura), at the northern end of the Qura Arabiyyah where the ruins of Dedan are located was
called Hajar (Hijr) since at least the time of Ramses II, 1290-1124 BC40 The related word ajar
simply means “farms,”41 In his book, The Dictionary of Arabic Topography and Placenames,
Nigel Groom gives the alternative spellings and names for Hajar, namely Hijra, Mahajar,
Mahijra, Muhajar, and Muhjir, which means, among other things, “a fertile piece of land.”42
Since the words “piece” and “parts” are synonyms, Hajar could also be translated “a fertile part
of land.”
Even more interesting is that the name is applied to all twelve of the Qura Arabiyyah villages,
for the Prophet Mohammed referred to the villages as the Muhajirun, which means, “the fertile
pieces of land.”43 (the plural form of Hajar) or alternative the “fertile parts of land.” The title
Muhajirun (fertile pieces) seems only to have applied to the villages that were located on the
Frankincense Trail from Egypt, the very route Lehi would have taken from the Valley of Lemuel
to Medina.44 As incredible as it might seem, when the Book of Mormon refers to Lehi traveling
in the “most fertile parts,” the sacred book is referring to an actual place-name of a segment of
the exact trail where Lehi would have traveled from Shazer through the mountains to Medina,
the Muhajirun.
The Lehyanites of the Muhajirun
Is there still intriguing information in the area suggesting a postulate that Lehi and his family
may have traveled through and even stayed for some time in Dedan? Perhaps. Lehi’s family
took eight years to cross Arabia to Bountiful, a journey that required only three months for a
professional caravan team. Undoubtedly they could not have traveled in the extreme heat of
39
Groom, Dictionary of Arabic Topography and Placenames, s.v. “Qura ‘Arabiyyah.”
40
Ministry of Education Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Antiquities Sites of Ula and Madain Saleh, (Riyadh: Ministry of
Education Kingdom of Saudi Arabia), 26.
41
Catafogo, Joseph, Arabic and English Literary Dictionary, (Beirut: Librairie du Liban, 1975), 652.
42
Groom, Dictionary of Arabic Topography and Placements, s.v. “Hajar”.
43
Al-Wohaibi, Abdullah, The Northern Hijaz in the writing of the Arab Geographers –[AD 800-1150], (Beirut: Al-
Risalah, 1973), 204.
44
Al-Wohaibi, 212.
22
the Arabian hot months. At other times children were being born. In Lehi’s time, Dedan was a
rich merchandizing city (Ezekiel 27:15) and a major halt on the caravan road. Since Lehi himself
was probably a merchant45 and Dedan had a Jewish community at the time, Lehi might have
had existing associates in Dedan and a community of Jews in Dedan46 that he could convert to
the gospel. We do know that the pattern of making converts in the wilderness of Arabia was
followed by his son Nephi (D&C 33:7-8).
Shortly after Lehi’s passage through Dedan, the people of the city changed their name from the
Dedanites to the Lihyanites, meaning the people of Lihy or Lehy. The oldest reference to the
Lihyani or Lihyanites comes from Sabaean inscription dated to the first half of the sixth century
BC that records the journey of a Sabaean merchant.47 Among other sacred sites, the Lihyanties
constructed a great temple with a font in the foundations of their temple that matched the
dimensions of the Brazen Sea font in Solomon’s Temple in Jerusalem. 48 The font was buried
below the surface of the ground with steps leading down into it. The Saudi Arabian Ministry of
Antiquities does not know the purpose of the font. The name of the beautiful valley the
Lihyanite temple overlooks is Ula, which means ‘to exalt’. The Lihyanites worship only one god
who had the form of a man. They called their god Dhu-Ghaibit, and the followers paid a tax or
tithe of ten percent to their religious leaders called
Salahs.49
Unfortunately, archaeologists have written the name of

these people as the Lihyanites. The actual spelling the
tribe chooses to write its name in Latin characters is the
“Lehyanites or Lehyani.” Lehyan is a male name of Arabic
origin, meaning “cheerful and entertaining.”50 It is also a
Jewish name. Lehyan is plural for Lehy (those of Lehy),
while Lehyani is possessive (of the Lehyan). Islamic records
show that the “Lehyan” tribe opposed the rule of Prophet
Figure 4 Font in foundations of Lehyanite
Muhammed. 51 They might have opposed Muhammed
Temple because that at least a significant portion of the
Lehyanites were Jews.52
45
Nibley, Hugh W., Lehi in the Desert and The World of the Jaredites. (Salt Lake City, Utah: Bookcraft Publishing
Companym 1952), 36.
46
Haggi, Mazuz, The Religious and Spiritural Life of Jews of Medina,86-91.
47
Rohmer, J. and G. Charloux, From Liyan to the Nabataeans: Dating the End of the Iron Age in Northwest Arabia,
(2015). 302.
https://www.academia.edu/14360605/Rohmer_J._and_Charloux_G._2015_From_Li%E1%B8%A5y%C4%81n_to_th
e_Nabataeans_Dating_the_End_of_the_Iron_Age_in_Northwestern_Arabia_, assessed May 2018.
48
Hilton, Lynn and Hope Hilton, Discovering Lehi, New evidence of Lehi and Nephi in Arabia, (Springville, Utah:
Cedar Fort Inc., 1996).
49
Roads of Arabia, 272. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lihyan, accessed 26 May 2018.
50
http://prenoms.aujourhui.com/prenoms/761248/saliha64s-Lehyan.html, accessed 5 April 2018.
51
Stephens, Khadeijah A, and others The Journey of a Life with Prophet Muhammad, 1984,
http://www.muhammad.com/88languages/French/Prophet-Muhammad-Biography-2.html.
23
Until recently, archaeologists had no clue as to where the Lehyanites came from or how they
conquered the Dedanites, the people who ruled the valley since the time of Abraham. Jewish
historians believe that they were Hebrew descendants of Abraham53 (see Genesis 25:1-3).
However, it is only recently that Professor Michael Macdonald at Oxford University’s Oriental
Institute showed that the Dedanite and Lihyanite languages were the same 54, meaning that the
Lehyanites, who came to power in northwest Arabia around 550 BC, were not a new people,
but were the Dedanites themselves who simply changed their name to “the people of Lehy”.
Therefore the Lehy people originally called themselves the Dedanites so named after Dedan the
grandson of the Abraham (Genesis 25:1-3). They believed they their city was founded by Dedan
and that they were his descendants. They must have been very impressed by the man Lehy in
order for them to have changed the name of their tribe from their founder and grandson of the
great patriarch Abraham to the people of Lehy.
The Lehyanites ruled the area between the coast of the Red Sea at the west and Domat al
Jandal in the east for over five hundred years Their rule ended with the emergence of the
Nabataeans in the first century BC.”55 Thus, the Lehyanites ruled northwest Arabia starting just
after Lehi passed through the “most fertile parts” of the Frankincense trail. To this day, the
name Lihy or Lehy are associated with places along route of the ancient Frankincense trail and
the area known as the most fertile parts. Using the modern road map Saudi Zaki Farsi Engineer
Maps, Bruce Santucci identified the town of Al-Lihin, Jabel (mountain) Lihayyan, Hujayyat (lava
fields) al Lihyan, and valleys of Wadi Liyyah and Sha’ib al
Lihyan.
During a visit to the Ula valley in 2005, we found that the

Saudi Arabian Department of Antiquities has begun
excavating the Lehyanite Temple. All that we knew about
the temple site prior to 2005 was that a temple had once sat
upon the half mile long complex, and that all that remains of
the entire site is a great pile of rubble, millions of small
pieces of rock and the cistern.56 During the excavation the
Figure 5 Location of lost Lihyanite temple team from King Saud University discovered several large
complex
statues which became the center piece of an international
exhibition.
52
A prominent member of the Lehyani tribe in Makkah informed the author that part of his tribe were Jews who
migrated to Israel and some are now part of the Israeli government. For example, Nissim Lehyani Israeli high-tech
entreprenuir who served in the Israeli military intelligence – see Wainer, David, “Tel Aviv Woos Technology
Entrepreneurs With Startup Visas.” Bloomberg, May 29, 2013, “http://www.shopial.com/terms-of-
use/bloomberg/ accessed May 2018..
53
http://imninalu.net/2history02.htm, p. 5/22, 4/5/2005.
54
Pierard, Patrick, conversations with George Potter (7 April 2005) and Michael Macdonald.
55
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Ministry of Education, Al-Bid, History and Archaeology, (Riyadh, Ministry of Education,
2002), p. 9.
56
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Ministry of Education, Department of Antiquities and Museums, Antiquities Sites of al-
Ula and Madain Saleh, (Riyadh, Ministry of Education, no date), 19.
24
In early 2005 I met the French explorer Patrick Pierard.57 He told me he discovered an amazing
holy site on top of a mountain on the opposite side of the valley. He claimed that the site was
full of acre after acre of untouched Lehyanite artifacts. In April 2005 my companions and I
returned to the ruins of Dedan to search for these Lehyanite artifacts. What we found was
breathe taking. On the summit of the mountain, we found a large sanctuary covering
approximately 10-14 acres. This lost temple complex sits above tall vertical cliffs, and today it
can only be reached with the aid of ropes.
In antiquity the sanctuary had steps carved in the sandstone that led from the base of the
mountain to the summit. Unfortunately the steps have completely eroded away except at the
bases of the mountain. Like an Arabian version of Machu
Picchu this second Lehyanite temple is perched upon a
mountain top with magnificent vistas. But unlike the
Peruvian lost city, the lost temple of the Lehyanites is
much more difficult to reach and appears to have been of
much greater significances. Indeed, we found dozens of
altar stones for animal sacrifices, statutes, columns,
incense burners and cisterns. There are literally hundreds
of artifacts spread over the sanctuary including two large
assembly areas where seats had been carved into the
Figure 6 Author at lost Lehyanite Temple with living stone walls to form large natural amphitheaters.
broken statue. Hundreds of worshippers could have gathered in
either theater.
When archaeologists prioritize the importance of documentary evidence, written records take
top stage. Renaming families and tribes after exceptional leaders is a time honored tradition in
Arabia. If the Lehyanite were converts it would feasible that they renamed their tribe after the
patriarch Lehi and have named their children after the men they regarded as exceptionally
righteous. The Book of Mormon identifies the righteous adult males in Lehi’s family during their
crossing of Arabia as Lehi (Lehy), Nephi (Nafi in Arabia) and Sam (1 Nephi 2:17,7:6,8:3). The
name Lehy is found on inscriptions throughout the Ula valley. The name Lehy was also carried
in the line of Lehyanite kings.
The Lehyanites used the personal name ‘Nafy’. The name appears in Lehyan script on a 3rd or
4th century tomb marker near Ula58. During one of my visits to the ruins of the Lehyanite capital
city, I met at the farmers market in the nearby city of Ula a man who bore the name Nafi.
That’s not surprising since there is a town named Nafi in central Arabia.
In May 2004 I was shown Lehyanite inscriptions in the Ula valley including the name ‘Sam.” This
is interesting since the common Hebrew pronunciation is ‘Samuel’, and the Arabic traditional
57
Patrick Pierard is a well-known explorer and naturalist in Saudi Arabia. He is co-author of the book Off-Road In
the Hejaz – a guide to off-road exploring in northwest Arabia.
58
Hiltons, Lynn 89; citing W.F. Winnett and W. L Reed, “Ancient Records from the north Arabia, (Toronto,
University of Toronto Press: 1970).
25
pronunciation is ‘Sami’, yet the Book of Mormon pronunciation is exactly the same as the
Lehyanite articulation “Sam.” I later discovered that the National Museum of Saudi Arabia with
the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History display on their joint internet site another
Lihyanite inscription of the name ‘’Sam.”
Nahom
After traveling for many days, Lehi’s family reached a place which, Nephi informs us, “was
called Nahom” (1 Nephi 16:34). Here a great drama unfolded with the death of Ishmael and the
direct intervention of the Lord to both chasten and save the travelers (1 Nephi 16:39). Nahom is
also where Lehi’s party turned eastward until they reached Bountiful. The obvious questions
are, “Where was Nahom?” and “Where did they turn east?”
It has been suggested that the place already had this name, since the family does not give the
place a name, it already had one, Nahom, written “NHM” in Arabic (more common variant
spellings are: Naham, Nahm, Neham, Nehem, Nehhm, Nihm), which many feel could be
identical to Nephi’s “Nahom.” As noted before, in Arabic, vowels are not written down, and
while NHM does not have the same emphasis on the second syllable that Nahom does, the
word may have been pronounced differently 2,600 years ago.
In 1987, Dr. Ross T. Christensen published a brief article pointing out that in Yemen a
community named “Nahom” existed eighteen miles northeast of the modern capital San’a.59
This community of Nahom is one of the one hundred and eighty or so administrative districts
that made up the, then, Yemen Arab Republic. The meaning of NHM in South Arabian is
“pecked masonry,”60 a technique of using chisels to produce a roughened finished stone, as
well as, the general administrative area the name NHM is also associated with a mountain
called Jabal Naham (15o37’ N, 44o36’ E). Our studies have revealed that the name NHM also
exists elsewhere in Yemen. Wadi Naham (also called wadi Harib Naham) is found just south of
wadi Jizl (15o42’ N, 44o52’ E)61 close to the ancient Frankincense trail between Ma’in and Marib.
Furdat Naham, meaning “stony hills of Naham,”62 is marked on the U.S. CIA map of Yemen of
1970 (15o49’ N, 44o42’ E) and is itself only a few miles from the same trail.
While excavating the Bar’an temple in Marib, a German archaeological team under the
leadership of Burkhard Vogt unearthed a stone altar bearing the inscription of the name of the
benefactor who donated it, “Bi’athar, son of Sawad, from the tribe of Naw’, from Nihm.” 63 Vogt
dates the altar to the seventh or sixth century BC.64 In 2000, a second altar bearing the name
“Nah’m” was found in Marib in the Temple of the Moon Goddess, which dated to the “seventh
59
Christensen, Ross T., “Place Called Nahom,” Ensign 8 (August 1978), 73.
60
Brown, S. Kent, “Place That Was Called Nahom, New Light from Ancient Yemen.” Journal of Book of Mormon
Studies, 8, no. 1 (1999), 79.
61
Defense Mapping Agency Topographic Center, Yemen Arab Republic: Official Standard Names Approved by the
United States Board on Geographic Names, (Washington, DC: United States Board of Geographic Names, 1976).
62
Groom, Dictionary of Arabic Topography and Placenames, s.v. “Furdat”.
63
Sima, Alexander, “Religion,” in Queen of Sheba – Treasures from Ancient Yemen. Ed. St John Simpson, (London:
British Museum Press, 2002), 166.
64
Brown, S. Kent, “Place that Was Called Naham,” 66-68.
26
or eighth century BC.”65 This seems to be solid evidence that a region or place called NHM
(Nihm) existed at the time of Lehi and was along the Frankincense trading route.
Still, to NHM to have been the Book of Mormon’s “Nahom,” the Frankincense Trail would need
to have abruptly changed its course from south-southeast to east at NHM. Nephi tells us that
after Nahom, the family continued their journey in the wilderness traveling in “nearly eastward
from that time forth” (1 Nephi 17:1). When we started researching the trail, this last eastwardly
portion, from Shabwa to Bountiful, was the one which had, by far, the least information.
Experts like Nigel Groom had written about the eastward trail, but the area is so isolated that
no scholar had found evidence of it. Freya Stark wrote in 1936 that at that time, “No European
had been along this way.”66 She continued, “practically nothing is known about the country
through which this northerly route travels.” 67 Fortunately, at the very time we were
investigating the trail in southern Arabia, the research of Professor Juris Zarins of Southwest
Missouri State University was coming to light. His investigation of the ruins of Shisur and other
archeological sites has begun to shed light on the incense trail and route it took in southern
Oman and Yemen. Zarins found a number of forts in southern Arabia, which provided the first
concrete evidence that an overland trail existed from the ancient kingdoms in Yemen, east to
the frankincense groves of Dhofar and its trail end at the ancient harbor of Khor Rori. Regarding
the finding of these forts or kellas Dr. Zarins reported, “It immediately proved our thesis that
there was a land route.”68 At several places along the trail groups of standing stones about
three to five feet high were found that marked the route and probably gave information about
distances, locations of water, and directions.
Professor S. Kent Brown of Brigham Young University noted: “Thus Nephi’s note about turning
and travelling “nearly eastward,” which is one of the few geographical markers in his narrative,
stands as one of the strongest proofs that Nephi’s narrative describes a real situation in SW
Arabia which Joseph Smith could not possibly have known from any ancient or contemporary
source. Only those who had travelled one of those routes could have known about the turn to
the east.”69 Once again we see that the Book of Mormon is in total harmony with the direction,
terrain and fertility of the Frankincense Trail in 600 BC.
Learn more about Lehi’s Trail by watching our six-part documentary DVD, Discovering Lehi’s
Trail or reading my full-color book, Lehi in the Wilderness. Both are available through our site
www.nephiproject.com. The book Lehi in the Wilderness can be ordered at Cedar Fort:
http://www.cedarfort.com.
65
Hilton, Lynn, personal communications with authors, July 2000. Date of the Temple given by Professor Yusus M.
Abdullah, President of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, General Organization of Antiquities, Museums and
Manuscripts, San’a, Yemen.
66
Stark, Freya, Southern Gates of Arabia, (London: John Murran, 1936),302-303.
67
Ibid.
68
Wilford, John Noble, “Ruins in Yemeni Desert Mark Rute of Frankincense Trade,” (New York: New York Times,
January 28, 1997).
69
Brown, S. Kent, to the authors, January 19, 2001.
27
Figure 7 The Valley of Lemuel, wadi Tayyib al-Ism where it opens to the Red Sea.
28
He called the name of the river, Laman,
and it emptied into the Red Sea… 1 Nephi 2:8
Chapter Two
Discovering the Valley of Lemuel
How can we be certain that the wadi Tayyib al-Ism is the Book of Mormon’s Valley of Lemuel?
The answer is easy, Nephi made detailed assertions about the valley and its river. Furthermore,
the nature of these assertions is such that one would not expect to find these characteristics in
northwest Arabia, i.e., a river of continually flow water, a fertile valley with seeds and grain, etc.
Despite the unlikelihood of finding any one of these assertions to be true, the Wadi Tayyib al-
Ism matches all of these characteristics perfectly.
The River of Laman
What can we reasonably say about the river of Laman from the Book of Mormon? First, the
river was quite surely not a major stream. Hugh Nibley states, “It *the river Laman+ cannot
therefore have been an important stream, let alone one of the most remarkable on earth, or
Lehi would have known about it.”70Second, the waters of the river Laman emptied into the
fountain of the Red Sea. It is commonly believed that this referred to the Gulf of Aqaba of the
Red Sea (see footnote to 1 Nephi 2:9). Third, Nephi described the stream as “continually
running” (1 Nephi 2:9). Finally, the river of Laman ran through a geographical feature that Lehi
called the valley of Lemuel (see 1 Nephi 2:6-10). Our initial visit confirmed that the stream in
the canyon met all of the physical criteria for the river of Laman.
Whichever word Nephi used that came into English as “river” could denote a large stream, a
small continuously flowing one, or a seasonal flood. Nephi’s choice of the phrases “river of
water” and “continually running,” however, seem to point to a stream that flowed all the time,
at least throughout the months or even years that they camped nearby. The expression “river
of water” seems strange to twenty-first-century readers and has been considered by detractors
of the Prophet as evidence that a naïve Joseph Smith was, in fact, the author of the Book of
Mormon. For what other kind of river is there if not a river of water? And yet his use of this
expression is entirely appropriate in a desert land. In 1819, Captain G. Forster Sadleir of the
British Army was the first European to cross Arabia. He made his journey from El Kateef (Qatif)
on the Arabian Gulf coast west to Yambo (Yanbu) on the Red Sea coast. Captain Sadleir
recorded on September 5, 1819, while a short distance north of Medina, “We entered a Derah
(wadi) between the hills, and descended into a deep rocky ravine in which is a plentiful supply
of water.” His map of the journey marked this wadi records, “Ravine and River of water.”(italics
added)71 It is interesting that an early nineteen-century Englishman and an early nineteenth-
70
Nibley, Hugh W., Lehi in the Desert, Ed. John W. Welch, Gary P. Gillum, and Don E. Norton. The Collected Works
of Hugh Nibley, vol. 1 (Salt Lake City: Desert Book, Provo: F.A.R.M.S., 1986), 82,83.
71
Sadleir, Forster Sadleir, Diary of a Journey across Arabia, (Naples, Italy: Falcon Press, 1977), 22,94.
29
century American used exactly the same terminology to describe a small river in a ravine or
gorge in Arabia. The only difference was that the American had never been to Arabia or seen
such a desert river!
The Hebrew term for river enters into our evaluation of this stream because of Nephi’s account.
There are several Hebrew words which Nephi could have used. Most of them refer to any
running stream.72 Again, while scientists believes that there are no continually flowing rivers or
streams in Arabia, the small desert river that runs through the Wadi Tayyib al-Ism has flowed
continually into the Red Sea for the 26 years the author has lived in Arabia.73
Firm, Steadfast and Immovable Valley
The grandeur of the canyon in the Wadi Tayyib al-Ism is difficult to describe in words or even
portray in photographs. It is a narrow gorge cut through a massive granite mountain. It consists
of three sections which we will refer to as the upper valley, the canyon of granite, and the
lower canyon. The upper valley constitutes an oasis that lies at the south end of a twelve-mile
long wadi. The upper valley site is like a pleasant jewel, spread out over approximately one
square mile with several hundred palm trees and twelve wells that Bedouin frequent to fill their
water trucks.
The upper valley ends as the long descending wadi veers west and runs against the eastern
granite cliffs of the shoreline mountains. But rather than forming the usual impassable barrier,
the coastal mountains have been breached by a narrow canyon. This deep fracture in the
granite mountain provides a narrow passage to the Red Sea and a pathway for the small river.
Timothy Sedor measured the length of this imposing canyon to be approximately three and
three-quarters miles.
The final section of what we believe is the valley of Lemuel is the lower canyon and the beach.
The granite canyon opens out into the flat gravel floor just a few feet above sea level. This level
area at the mouth of the canyon is about three-eighths of a mile long. This is the most
impressive section of the canyon. Here the height of the canyon walls rises over two thousand
feet straight up on both sides from the canyon floor. At places in the canyon its two wall faces
are separated by less than seventy feet. This magnificent canyon, which is a three-days camel
ride into Arabia and which opens to the Red Sea, can accurately be described as firm, steadfast,
and immovable.
72
See Reed, William L., “River,” in Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible, 4:100-101.
73
See full discussion, Potter and Wellington, Lehi in the Wilderness, 32.
30
Figure 8 Timothy Sedor's mapping of the Valley of Lemuel
The Ruins of a Camp Site
Today, no one lives in the Wadi Tayyib al-Ism. However, there are indications that a large party
did camp there in antiquity. Just outside the granite canyon in the upper valley we found the
remains of what appears to be an ancient campsite. The largest ruins are stone walls of what
were perhaps storage areas. We found old pottery shards throughout the campsite, an area of
about one acre. Could these stone structures have been the remains of Lehi’s camp? We have
no way of determining this. However, we found that a team of international archaeologists led
by Michael Ingraham visited the ruins in the upper valley. The team classified the site as an
“encampment,” and dated the pottery shards to Lehi’s time (Iron age – early second to mid-first
millennium BC)74
74
Ingrahram, Michael Lloyd, Theodore D. Johnson, Baseem Rihani, and Ibrahim Shatla, “Saudi Arabian
Comprehensive Survey Program: R\Preliminary Report on a Reconnaissance Survey of the Northwestern Province,”
Atlal, the Journal of Saudi Arabian Archaeology, 5 (1981), 70,71 (see site #200-81).
31
Seeds of Every Kind of Fruit and Grain
In 1984 the United States and Saudi Arabian Joint Commission of Economic Development
completed for the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Agriculture and Water a mapping of the soils of
Saudi Arabia. Map no. 33 shows the soils of the Midian region where our candidate for the
Valley of Lemuel is located. The entire shoreline mountain system, including the full length of
the Wadi Tayyib al-Ism was classified in soil category 39. This category is defined as “poor” soil,
percentage arable “0%”. The reason for this was cited as “Depth of Rock, rock outcrops, and
slope.”
Of the entire twenty-four mile length of Wadi Tayyib al-Ism, it is only the last four miles where
we believe Lehi’s family camped, where the river flows, and where they would have gathered
seeds. Nephi wrote that his family gathered grain and seeds of fruit of every kind while they
camped in the valley of Lemuel (1 Nephi 8:1). Initially we thought that finding sites for growing
seeds and grain would be one of the hardest criteria anywhere in northwest Arabia to prove the
existence of the Book of Mormon valley of Lemuel. How could we find different types of grains
growing wild in the non-arable wadis of Midian? To our surprise we found small patches of a
wild grain growing in places along the river. The fact that archaeologists have found that people
inhabited the wadi for extended periods of time, suggests that they must have planted
vegetables and grains. Whether the grains the family harvested were wild or sown, there is
ample evidence that the section of the Wadi Tayyib al-Ism that we consider the valley of
Lemuel is capable of growing them.
Our final answer came in January 1999, when we reached the canyon, well after the time grain
would have been harvested. However, no hard rains had fallen in the valley that rainy season,
To our delight the grasses in the canyon still had large amounts of grain hanging on them. We
found this grain growing in five areas of the canyon. Not only did this grain seem to grow in
ample quantities in the canyon, it was also easy to strip from the shaft and separate. Using a
plastic bag to gather it, we then crushed the bag against the hood of the car for a minute or
two. In a total of ten minutes, we separated enough wheat-size grain for several bowls of
cereal.
In the context of traveling across Arabia, it is safe to assume that Nephi’s “seeds of fruit” are
dates. Dates hang in clusters from the top of the palms as if they are giant balls of seed. The
dates probably also account for the seeds they took with them when they left the valley (1
Nephi 16:14). They took many kinds of seeds, but one seed they most certainly would have
taken were the dates, which are the traditional food source for travelers in Arabia. Nephi’s
family would either have known this fact or would have been told it by the locals. An Arab
colleague whose great grandfather marketed camels from central Arabia to Palestine, Cairo,
and Baghdad, even as far as India, claims that his great-grandfather and his crews ate only
dates and tea during the days they traveled. The caravaneers must have taken with them large
quantities of dates to consume on their journeys. Along with the camel, the Arabs consider the
date to be one of God’s greatest gifts to them. Without the camel, travel across the desert
would have been impossible. Without the date, one of the few food staffs that do not perish in
the heat of the desert, they would have had nothing to eat. In the wadi canyon of granite and
32
the upper valley, dates are found in abundance. We have found examples of each of the three
varieties of date palm that grow in Arabia, Phoenix caespitosam, Phoenix dactylifera, and
Hyhenae thebaica75 (with its lemon-size dates), all growing in the valley where we believe Lehi
camped.
Today, there are other fruits growing wild in the wadi Tayyib al-Ism. So far we have found a
variety of edible berry and two vine fruits. The berry is called the Teen by the Bedouin who say
that the fruit is delicious. In sharp contrast is the taste of the vine fruits. They taste dreadful.
The Arabs use these two fruits as medicine. They are the vine fruit of the Citrillus colocynthis
and the Cucumis prophetarum.
An Altar of Stones in the Valley of Lemuel
The wadi Tayyib al-Ism appears to have all the natural attributes of the valley described by
Nephi. However, a key structure crafted by the hands of man—an altar of stones—still needed
to be located in the wadi in order for it to have all the known features of the valley of Lemuel.
One need not speculate on this point. Nephi wrote that his father built an altar of stones (1
Nephi 2:7).
The hills surrounding the canyon and upper valley at the wadi Tayyib al-Ism cover a large area.
There are dozens of summits and peaks on which an altar could be found. After attempting
several hikes into the mountains in search of an altar, we found a fortunate clue.
While surveying the flora in the eastern most palm grove of the upper valley, we spotted a
circle of stones. This was not a camel corral, but a nearly perfect circle of stones about two feet
in height with an entrance at one point in the stone circle. It gave us the impression that it had
been used as a formal meeting place where people would gather, sit and converse. To one side
of the circle was a level area of ground formed into a triangular shape that pointed toward the
canyon. Most curious still was a cavity in the cliff next to the circle. The cavity formed a small
roofless chamber.
We postponed our flora survey and decided to climb the hill to look for signs of an altar. At the
summit we found a pile of uncut stones, fourteen by eight feet at the base. The top of the pile
had collapsed somewhat, but it was apparent that the top had been approximately seven feet
long by four feet and was approximately waist high. We believe this monument could have
been an altar. It has the correct shape, a rectangle (four corners76), it was positioned above the
circle in the valley, and it was positioned at a high place, a flat area at the top of the hill where
the first light of the sunrise and the last light of the sunset could be seen. “Only the people
sacrificed in high places, because there was no house built unto the name of the LORD, until
those days” (1 Kings 3:2). Altars are a part of the temple ceremony. In cases of poverty and
emergency, i.e., Lehi fleeing Jerusalem to save his life, temple ordinances may sometimes be
75
“The tree is called *by the Arabs+ Down, and the fruit, which partakes of the flavor of ginger-bread, is called
Bhash,” (Sadleir, Diary of a Journey across Arabia), 94.
76
LDS Bible Dictionary, s.v. “Altars.”
33
performed on mountain tops.77 For example, we know that Lehi made an offering on an altar (1
Nephi 2:7) and marriages were performed for his sons while they camped in the valley of
Lemuel (1 Nephi 16:7). Likewise, Abraham’s altar was upon a mountain (Genesis. 22:2,9).
According to Mosaic laws, altars consisted of either raised up earth or a pile of unhewn stones
(Exodus 22:25; Deuteronomy. 27:5; Joshua 8:31).
As we started down the mountain, we noticed pieces of broken pottery embedded in the
ground. The shards were found approximately fifteen feet down from the altar candidate. The
scriptures tell of the vessels of the altar and the need to anoint the altar with oil before making
a sacrifice (Exodus. 40:10). Oil was also used as part of the sacrifice itself (Numbers 28:13-14;
Ezekiel 45:25). The altar ceremony might have had special significance to the young Nephi.
After Lehi and his sons completed piling the stones into the form of an altar, it remained only a
heap of rocks until it was dedicated as an altar. An altar must first be purified by an anointing
(Exodus 40:10). Randolph Linehan informs us that when the temple in Jerusalem was
rededicated, the altar was purified for sacrifices in a ceremony called the Nephithar or Nephi
ceremony.78 Given how important the altar was to Lehi, perhaps we have a clue as to the
Hebrew origins of Nephi’s name.
 Learn more by watching our six-part documentary DVD, Discovering Lehi’s Trail or reading
my full-color book, Lehi in the Wilderness. Both are available through our site
www.nephiproject.com. The book Lehi in the Wilderness can be ordered at Cedar Fort:
http://www.cedarfort.com.
77
LDS Bible Dictionary, s.v. “Temples.”
78
Linehan, Randolph cites the Authorized Version of the Bible to English Speaking Churches, later referred to as
the King James version, published in 1611. An edition published by Cranston and Stowe in Chicago included the Old
Testament, Apocrypha, New Testament, and Bible Dictionary. The text had extensive notes. 2 Maccabees of the
Apocrypha 1:33-36 describes the return of the faithful to clean out the temple to initiate temple use during the
time of the Priest Nehemiah (Neemias in Greek). “And Nehemiah called this think Nephthar, which is as much to
say a cleansing, but many men call it Nephi” (verse 30.) In some versions, Nephi is called Naphtha: pure colorless
oil which was very rare and found only in certain seeps in Arabia.
34
Thou shalt construct a ship,
after the manner which I shall
show thee, that I may carry thy people
across these waters. 1 Nephi 17:8
Chapter Three
Bountiful and Nephi’s Harbor
If the Book of Mormon is true, one should be able to travel from Nahom in Yemen eastward, on
the Frankincense trail until they come to a unique garden land surrounded by the immense
Arabian desert. Hugh Nibley and later Lynn and Hope Hilton, directed students of the Book of
Mormon to the Salalah coast plain where the Frankincense trail terminated at the harbor of
Khor Rori. The coastal plain is due east of Nahom and has all four primary characteristics Nephi
attributes to the land he called Bountiful: a shoreline, abundant fruit, wild honey, and a
mountain.
Much Fruit
The soil of the Salalah coastal plain is remarkably rich and

productive. Numerous springs, fed by the summer
monsoons, irrigate the plain, and the area is said to be
capable of producing three crops in a year.79 Present day
farms on the coast grow coconuts, bananas, sugar cane,
tobacco, cotton, indigo, cereals, pulse, and vegetables.
However, many of these crops are modern introductions.
There is evidence that the ‘Adites, who occupied the
Salalah plain in Nephi’s time were highly adept at
agriculture. Pre-Islamic traditions and the Qur’an cite that
the ‘Adites built magnificent cities above where rivers
flow.80 According to the Qur’an, the People of ‘Ad built a
“landmark on every high place” (26:134) and had gardens
and springs (26:134) and irrigated fields (46:21). 81 The
Figure 9 Fruit Stands in Salalah near Khor chronicler Wahb idn Munaabbih recorded the oral tradition
Rori of the prophet Hud who, according to the Qur’an, lived in
Old Testament times. In this tale “the trees of the tribe of
79
Miles, S.B., Countries and Tribes of the Persian Gulf, (London: Frank Cass and Co., 1966), 515.
80
Hamblin, William, “Pre-Islamic Arabian Prophets,” in Mormons and Muslims: Spiritual Foundations and Modern
Manifestations, ed. Spencer J. Palmer, (Provo, UT: Brigham Young University, 1983), 96.
81
Ali, Abdullah Yusuf, Meaning of the Holy Qur’an, New ed. (Brentwood, MD: Amana Publications, 1994). 923, 924,
1309n 4799.
35
‘Ad became green and brought forth fruit out of season”82 at the conception of the prophet.
Remarkable new discoveries at the natural harbor at Khor Rori near the eastern end of the
Salalah Coastal plain are interesting in this regard. The word Khor means “inlet,” and shipping
and large shipbuilding existed at the time of Nephi; and the building of a ship was the reason
Lehi’s family traveled the long and difficult journey to southern Arabia. The harbor settlement
and its adjacent village of Taqah (two miles to the west) were occupied during Lehi’s time. 83 The
remains of stone fences constructed for irrigation at Khor Rori, together with pollen samples
from inside the buildings at the harbor, indicate that the people at the harbor cultivated fields
and gardens of wheat (Triticum group), barley (Hordeum group), and date palms (Phoenix
dactilifera).84 Further, Sorghum (Sorghum bi color), millets (Eleusine sp., Pennisetum sp.) cotton
(Gossypium sp.), and indigo (Indigofera sp.) were cultivated in Salalah possibly as early as 4000
BC85 It must be remembered that when Joseph Smith translated the Book of Mormon the
meaning of “fruit” meant any cultivated plants, including wheat, rye, oats, grasses, cotton, and
flax.86
Wild Honey
During the monsoon season, the valley two miles directly above Khor Rori, called Wadi Darbat,
turns into a jungle of green undergrowth. Year round the hills are blanketed with trees. This
amazing valley has five fresh water lakes and is designated as an Omani National Park. Salalah
historian Ali Al-Shahri (who has made a presentation at BYU and who was raised in wadi
Darbat) pointed out to us where, during his youth, a man came to the valley to collect wild
honey. He noted that because of the great variety of flowering plants growing in the valley,
some 400 species, the honey from the valley is highly valued for medicinal purposes.
82
Tales of the Prophets of al Kisa’I, 109-10.
83
Zarins, Juris, The Land of incense, Archaeology and Cultural heritage Series, vol. 1, Archaeological Work in the
Governorate of Dhofar, Sultanate of Oman 1990-1995. The Project of the National Committee for the supervision
of Archaeological Survey in the Sultanate, ministry of Information (Sultanate of Oman: Sultan Qaboos University
Publications Al-Nahda Printing Press, 2001), 74, 88, 139.
84
Cremaschi, Mauro and Alessandro Perego, “Land Use and Settlement pattern in the Archaeological Sumhuram:
An intensive survey at Khor Rori,” Sumhuram preliminary Report (Pisa: University of Pisa, 2006), 23, 27 making
reference to M. Mariotti Lippi, “Indagini palinologiche nel site archeologicao di Sumhuram (Khor Rori) in Dhofar
(Oman), “Primi risultati,Egitto e Vincino Oriente (20020, 25, 145, 149. M. Mariotti Lippi, R. Becattini, and T.
Gonnelli,”Archeopalinology at Sumhuram (Dhofar, Sultanate of Oman)” in Archaeological Studies: Khor Rori Report
1, ed. Avanzini (Pisa: Edizioni Plus, Pisa, 2002).
85
Zarins, The Land of Incense, Archaeology and Cultural Heritage Series, vol. 1, Archaeological Work in the
Governorate of Dhofar, Sultanate of Oman, 1990-1995. The Project of the National Committee for the supervision
of Archaeological Survey in the Sultanate, Ministry of Information (Sultanate of Oman: Sultan Qaboos University
Publications Al Nahda Printing Press, 2001), 6960.
86
Webster,Noah, An American Dictionary of the English Language, vol. 1; a facsimile of :Noah Webster’s Original
1828 Edition (New York: Johnson Reprint, 1970), no page numbers, see “Fruit).
36
Figure 10 River that runs between the five lakes of wadi Darbat, just above Nephi's Harbor.
‘Beast’ and ‘Meat’ in the land of Bountiful
Nephi used the skins of beasts to make a bellows (1 Nephi 17:11). When loading the ship,
Nephi’s family took “meat from the wilderness” (1 Nephi 18:6). Perhaps there is a distinction
between these two. Since Nephi specified that the “meat” was from the “wilderness,” it must
have been wild game. On the other hand, he did not indicate that the skins that were used for
bellows came from the wilderness. Perhaps then, the skins came from domesticated beasts.
The Dhofar region of Oman, where we believe Nephi built his ship, is the only place in Arabia,
apart from modern air-conditioned farms, where cattle can be found. 87 The earliest settlers of
Dhofar brought their cattle with them well before Lehi’s time.
The mountains of Dhofar are now populated by a tribe known as the Jibalis, the mountain
people. To this day they speak a different language than the Arabs of Oman. Their language is
related to the old southern Arabian and mostly unintelligible to the modern Arab speaker. They
make their living by raising cattle and camels, and to this day their livestock still grazes the
87
Clapp, Nicholas, Road to Ubar, (Boston: Houghton, Mifflin, 1998) 221-22.
37
green mountains of Dhofar. It would appear to make sense that if leather were available for
sale, it would be easier for Nephi to have used prepared leather than go off and hunt beasts,
skin them, and make a bellows.
So what was the meat from the wilderness that Nephi had loaded upon his ship? There are
many wild animals in the Dhofar Mountains. In spite of the rapid increase in the human
population, wild game is still present in the mountains of Dhofar, albeit under threat. Dhofar
contains twenty species of wild mammals, seven of which appear to be found only there. These
include, “the caracul, the leopard, the Arabian gazelle; the ibex appear in small numbers and
are vulnerable to hunting.”88 In the thirteenth century, Dhofar was celebrated for the good
quality of the Dhofari Oryx by Al Aqzzouini.89 Ancient cave art in wadi Darbat shows large wild
animals.90 The five fresh water lakes in wadi Darbat would have served as watering holes for
the animals and an ideal place for Nephi to have hunted, only six miles from the harbor of Khor
Rori where we believe Nephi built his ship.
The Mountain
The Lord is specific about one particular mountain (1 Nephi 17:7). There are several possibilities
for the mountain the Lord commanded Nephi to ascend. The entire Salalah coastal plain is
framed in by the Jabal al-Qara mountain range. The closest mountain to Khor Rori, and by far
the most impressive to Nephi, would have been Jabal Samhan just east of the harbor. Its
western slopes reached down to form the east side of Wadi Darbat and thus to Khor Rori. At
nearly 6,000 feet, it is the highest mountain in southern Oman and is mentioned by name in
Genesis 10:30, where it is known as “Sephar, a mount of the east.”
Nephi’s Harbor
Undoubtedly the reason the Lord led Lehi’s party the length and width of Arabia was to build a
ship that would be strong enough take the family across great oceans to their final destination.
Indeed the only trail Lehi could have taken to reach southern Arabia ended precisely at what
was probably the world’s most advanced shipbuilding and maritime harbor in that era. The
logical justification for the great hardships Lehi’s family endured to reach the maritime
resources at Khor Rori is certainly a rational of which Joseph Smith would have had no
knowledge. As we shall see, this serves as another witness to the truth and historical harmony
of the Book of Mormon.
When Irish maritime archaeologist Tim Severin built his replica ship the Sohar, a fifty-two foot
replica of Sinbad’s Omani ship, he wrote, “It required a place to build her, a port to fit her out,
and a large crew to sail her.” Severin was already an experienced transoceanic sailor when he
constructed the replica ship. Nephi’s ship required one more critical resource, an experienced
88
Vine, Peter. Heritage of Oman, (London: Immel Publishing, 1995), 50.
89
Al-Qazzouini, Zakariya b. Muhammad, Monuments of Countries and Reports of Far Away Places, (Beirut: Dar
Sadir) 56.
90
Hanna, Samir and Mohammed Al-Belushi, Caves of Oman, (Ruwi, Oman: Sultan Qaboos University, 1996),
100,103.
38
captain to command her. Khor Rori was the only known harbor large enough for ocean going
ships that existed in southern Oman in Lehi’s time. The main frankincense harbor of Khor Rori
was involved in seafaring trade as early as the fifth-fourth millennia BC.91 As seen on the next
map, the harbor possessed all of the maritime resources Nephi needed to build his ship of
exceedingly fine workmanship (1 Nephi 18:4) and as the Lord stated strong enough to “carry
thy people across these waters.” (1 Nephi 17:8)
During the last two decades three sites have been proposed for the place where Nephi built his
ship. Warren Aston proposed Wadi Sayq92, Wm. Revell Phillips suggested Mughsail (Maghsayl)93
as possible candidates, and Richard Wellington and I proposed Khor Rori94. We have already
seen that only Khor Rori has archaeological support for having “much fruit” in Book of Mormon
times. Even today, according to Wm. Revell Phillips of BYU and the proponent of the Mughsayl
candidate, of the three sites proposed for Nephi’s Harbor only the Salalah Coast plain where
Khor Rori is located has “today much fruits.95” Of course, the story of Bountiful was not about
fruit, it centered around the building of a great sailing ship, one large enough and stout enough
to cross the rough seas of two massive oceans. Again maritime archaeologist Severin reminds
us that to build such a ship one needs a place to build her that has a long shipbuilding lore and
the resources necessary to build a ship, a port to lower her into, and a crew to sail her.96
Without question, Nephi needed the same reasons, and there is only one place in southern
Oman where compelling archaeological evidence shows that only these assets would have been
available to Nephi – Khor Rori.
Nephi’s ship had to have been a large ship for its day. A close analysis of Lehi’s party shows that
it could have consisted of up to seventy-five members, all who would have boarded the ship for
a long voyage.97 Severin’s replica of Sindbad’s ship was eighty feet long and carried a crew of
only twenty men. Yet, his ship had to stop several times on its voyage from Oman to China to
replenish food, water, and supplies. Nephi’s family traveled three times as far as Severin’s
voyage, and there were no ports-of-call to purchase supplies. Most of what Nephi’s family
needed to survive the long voyage had to have been aboard their ship when it left Oman and
would have included food and water, several sets of sails, repair materials and tools, large bulky
traditional tents (1 Nephi 18:23), anchors, weapons, brass plates, and other items.
Furthermore, the ship had to be large and stout enough to have survived in the open seas the
four days of a terrible tempest that became “exceedingly sore.” (1 Nephi 18:13-15). U.S.
Maritime engineer and hull expert for the U.S. Navy, Frank Linehan estimates that Nephi’s ship
91
Zarins, The Land of Incense, 64, 76, 154.
92
Aston, Warren P., “The Arabian Bountiful Discovered, Journal of Book of Mormon Studies, vol. 7, no. 1(Provo:
FARMS, Brigham Young University, 1998).
93
Phillips, Wm. Revell, “Mughsayl, Another Candidate for land Bountiful,” Journal of Book of Mormon Studies vol.
16, no. 2, Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship, (Provo: Brigham Young University, 2007).
94
Potter, Lehi in the Wilderness, 2003.
95
Phillips, 53
96
Severin, Tim, The Sindbad Voyage, (New York: G.P Putnam’s Sons, 1983),18.
97
George Potter, Frank Linehan, Conrad Dickson, Voyages of the Book of Mormon, analysis by Richard Wellington,
(Springville, UT: Cedar Fort Inc, 2011), 29-30.
39
had to have had a length of approximately 120 feet and a width of 30 feet and a displacement
of roughly 535 tons.98
Joseph Smith was a farmer with no maritime experience or expertize. How would he have
known what resources Nephi needed to build and the knowledge and experience necessary to
captain a ship, let alone where such resources existed in Arabia. Yet the Book of Mormon
narrative clearly indicates that they took the ancient Frankincense trail to its end at Khor Rori
where in the sixth century BC all these rare and vital resources existed.
Figure 11 Khor Rori and resources need to build, launch and captain a sailing ship
Shipbuilding site where a ship could be built above calm water
In northern Oman, Severin had difficulty finding a suitable place to construct his 80 foot replica
ship. He needed a construction site above deep calm water, so that when the hull was finished
the massive structure could be gently lowered on shipbuilding ways (ramps), using greased logs
into its natural domain. The building site had to be protected from the strong monsoon storms
that pound the Omani shoreline. High monsoon winds alone can destroy a ship being built on
98
Potter, Voyages of the Book of Mormon, 75.
40
stilts, and equally dangerous high waves and storm tides that would destroy any vessel being
built near the shoreline. Severin was forced to build a proper construction yard in the Sohar
harbor by bringing in three hundred tons of hard-packed gravel. His ship was built a full meter
(thirty-nine inches) above tide levels.99
Khor Rori is a large and calm waterway extending over 1 ½ miles inland. Both Khor Rori and the
adjacent town of Taqah were settled long before Lehi’s arrival in southern Arabia. Archaeologist
Juris Zarins found evidence that a large scale Bronze Age presence was there,100 as well as
evidence of an Iron Age settlement. 101 Ceramic typology suggests that Taqah’s human
occupation dates to the late phase of the Bronze Age, and this is supported by C14 dates
averaging 1800 BC. 102 Zarins concludes: “All the evidence placed together then suggests
Moscha *the port’s name known to the Greeks] was Sumhuram/Khor Rori. The last suggestion is
that Khor Rori/Sumhuram was Ptolemy’s Abissa town (Van Wissmann 1977: 32-33, Groom
1994: 207), based on the natural falls upstream at Wadi Darbat.”103 There is no doubt that Khor
Rori provided a perfect site for building Nephi’s ship. The full distance of the inlet is protected
by cliffs on both sides, an imperative since season storms come both from the southwest and
northeast depending on the time of the year. Without a protected harbor, any attempt to build
a ship alone the Oman shoreline would have ended in disaster.
A Way (Ramp) where a ship could be lowered into the water
It is likely that Nephi’s ship would have been of such a size and weight that it could only have
been built upon a construction crib with (wooden rollers) above the tide line and when the hull
was finished rolled down into the water on a way (a ramp). Once moored in sheltered waters,
the construction could continue, adding the weight of outfitting, riggings, and tons of ballast
and provision. From time immemorial, large hulls have been launched into the calm waters of
harbors, and Nephi’s ship was no exception. The coastline of Dhofar is known for its heavy surf
and is made up of rocky cliffs alternating with sandy beaches. Launching a hull weighing at least
200 tons and which has no means of power or control from a shallow beach into breaking surf
with strong currents is physically impossible.
Today, the remains of eight ways still exist at the ancient harbor of Khor Rori. While the
remains of the ship launching ways at Khor Rori have not been dated, it is likely that if Khor Rori
has been an active harbor since the fourth or fifth millennium BC, the ways at Khor Rori were
available when Nephi was building his ship. There is no evidence of ancient ways or any means
of launching a large ship anywhere else in southern Oman.
99
Severin, Sindbad Voyage, 51-52.
100
Ibid., 74,88.
101
Ibid.
102
Ibid, 72. 88.
103
Ibid., 139.
41
Site where a ship could be moored for outfitting and loading
Nephi’s text implies a calm, orderly, and seemingly routine embarkation where party members
all boarded the ship before they “did forth into the sea” (1 Nephi 18:8). There is only one way
that everyone could be on board ship and then “put forth into the sea” – the ship was already
in the water and moored in a deep, calm harbor. When Nephi’s wooden ship set forth into the
sea, it could not have been the first time the ship was in the water. The reason for this is that a
ship must be placed in water earlier in order for the hull to be tightened. Patai noted that both
Hebrew and Egyptian shipbuilders used this technique: “Under the influence of the water the
planks of the ship’s hull swelled at the seams, and every seam, split, or crack became tightly
closed.”104 After Nephi was sure the hull was watertight, he could then load the tons of ballast
into the ship and perform sea trials to make sure the ballast was of the correct weight and
position for the sails. Khor Rori has several natural places where ships could moor, making it the
likely reason that Khor Rori and the nearby town of Taqah were anciently called Merbat
(meaning “the moorings”). Dr. Jana Owen of the University of California at Los Angeles
conducted a survey of the possible ancient harbors on the Salalah Coastal Plain. She concluded
that only Khor Rori could have accommodated large ships, and noted about Khor Rori “We also
did a dive survey of the lagoon and there is evidence of modification on the northeastern edge
of the lagoon and obviously the size is indicative of large ship dockings. 105
Nephi wrote "And it came to pass that the voice of

the Lord came unto my father, that we should arise
and go down into the ship" (1 Ne 18:5). What does
this mean? I suggest that there are at least two
possible explanations. First, in our book, Lehi in the
Wilderness, Richard Wellington and I propose that
it meant that the family actually went down "into"
the hull of the ship. The next verse (1 Nephi 18:6)
seems to confirm the idea that there was a hull
below the deck of the ship where they stored
provisions. The prophet continued: "And it came to
pass that on the morrow, after we had prepared all
things, much fruits and meat from the wilderness,
and honey in abundance, and provisions according
to that which the Lord had commanded us, we did
go down into the ship...." In other words, they
went below the deck to store their provisions.
Figure 12 Frankincense processing village above the Second, there is another possible meaning to what
moored ships at Khor Rori – going “down into the Nephi wrote. The ancient community at Khor Rori,
ship”
104
Patai, Richard, The Children of Noah, Jewish Seafaring in Ancient Times, (New Jersey: Princeton University Press,
1998), 37-38.
105
Owen, Jana, UCLA, Personal communications with Richard Wellington, 14 August 2000.
42
was located on a hill above the moorings. Figure 7 is an illustration from the museum at Khor
Rori, it is clear that in antiquity to reach the moored ships one had to go "down" from the
community that was established there since the Bronze Age.
Either meaning confirms that the Book of Mormon is in complete harmony with what was
known about the ships that sailed from Khor Rori in antiquity, as well as the actual geography of
the ancient harbor and how people had to descend the hill to reach the ships.
A breakwater allowing a large ship to safely enter the ocean
I grew up in Long Beach, California only a hundred yards from the Pacific shoreline and the large
international harbor that serves the Los Angeles
area. The harbor is one of the busiest in the
world. However, it was not always a harbor. At
one time, Long Beach had some of the largest
breaking surf in California. To create calm waters
for ships to weigh anchor and eventually dock, a
long man-made breakwater was created to
protect the ships.
According to the US and German archaeologists

Figure 13. 100 foot-tall cliffs the protect entrance to
we consulted, there was only one harbor large
Khor Rori, the harbors natural breakwater
enough and with waters calm enough for a large
sailing ship to have been constructed and
launched. It was Khor Rori. The inlet is located at the very end of the Frankincense trail and
where large ships in Lehi’s time were built or harbored that freighted frankincense to ports
such as Yemen, India, and Egypt. Besides being a large natural harbor, the unique feature that
made Khor Rori ideal for ancient shipbuilding and harboring are the giant, 100-feet-tall granite
cliffs that project out over 500 yards into the Indian Ocean from both sides of the shoreline.
This odd natural feature forms a perfect breakwater, allowing safe passage passed the breaking
surf into the open waters of the Indian Ocean. This natural feature would have allowed Nephi,
an inexperienced captain, to easily reach the safe deep waters of the Indian Ocean.
Conducting Sea Trials
Without sea trials to calibrate the ship and the opportunity to train his crew, Nephi's ship would
have been doomed from the start. It is not surprising then that the Book of Mormon hints that
there was a period of time between the completion of the construction of the ship and the date
when it actually embarked for the Promised Land. In verse 4 of chapter 18 of 1 Nephi, the
young prophet reported that the ship was finished and that his brothers saw that it was of good
workmanship. The subsequent verse starts with, "And it came to pass," apparently informing us
that at some later date the voice of the Lord came to Lehi instructing him that the time had
come for the family to leave for the Promised Land. "And it came to pass," is still used by
storytellers in the Middle East to indicate a break from the telling of one event or subject and
43
the start of new ones. If this assumption is correct, then reason dictates that Nephi would have
used this precious time to make sure that the ship was seaworthy and that the crew was
trained and practiced a multitude of vital tasks they needed to perform in order to sail a ship in
all types of weather conditions.
Having reflagged (changed ownership or re-commissioned overhauled ships) and dry-docked

many ships, Frank Linehan, a co-author of our book, The Voyages of the Book of Mormon,
explains the absolute necessity of sea trials before a ship is ready for her first voyage. "It has
taken me almost forty years of experience to learn how to conduct a ship's sea trials. No one
can obtain knowledge like that overnight. Where I am heading with his is that somebody who
was a very skilled mariner surely went out with Nephi's ship on her maiden voyage and 'shook
her down' in marine jargon.” Frank continues:
That master mariner had to determine that Nephi's ship had the correct amount
of ballast and that it was placed correctly and properly secured for heavy
weather. He would essentially ask many questions: Was the rig set up and tuned
right? Were the sails sized properly and cut right? Was all the running rigging
rigged and sized adequately? Were both masts properly stepped and positioned
to the keel? Was the rudder properly sized for the vessel and secured to the
stern frame in such a manner that it would not be lost in heavy weather? In all
points of wind, did the boat have weather helm [tendency of the ship to turn
into the wind] or lee helm [tendency of the ship to turn away from the wind]
with all the canvas flying? Was the ground tackle adequate to hold the vessel in a
'blow'? At what point of the sail would the ship sail most efficiently under
various ranges of wind? Most important would be thorough checks to see that
the vessel was watertight in all sea conditions. Quite possibly, one watertight
bulkhead [a partition separating areas] would be forward [toward the front of
the ship] only a few feet aft [back] of the bow. This would be called the collision
bulkhead. If the vessel hit something, this bulkhead, along with the heavy keel,
would prevent the ship from sinking. This would have been particularly
necessary if transiting through Polynesia and Micronesia with their myriad of
reefs.
At the end of the sea trials, this master mariner would have a list of deficiencies
that would require repair and alteration. The fellow who conducted the sea trials
would have been a capable, well experienced seaman and boat builder.
Iron ore for forging tools and flint
As mentioned before, the tallest mountain in southern Oman, mount Samban, forms the east
side of Khor Rori (1 Nephi 17:7). The Lord commended Nephi to go to the mountain, and there
he showed Nephi where he could find ore to smelter into tools for his ship. Just below the
slopes of mount Samban and only 4.5 miles from Khor Rori is found the remains of a Neolithic
44
flint quarry106 (1 Nephi 17:11) Only one mile further east of the flint quarry, BYU researchers
discovered a source of iron ore.107 Four iron smelters and one bronze smelter have been
discovered among the ruins at Khor Rori indicating that in antiquity ores were being smelted at
the harbor108 (1 Nephi 17:9,10). Examples of the metal tools foraged at Khor Rori are on display
at the Land of the Frankincense Museum in nearby city of Salalah.
Of special interest to students of the Book of Mormon is that bronze plates with words
embossed on them were discovered at Khor Rori109. The discovery of metal plates at Khor Rori
provides a possible explanation as to where Nephi learned to form metal plates for the
recording of his people’s history. The only other place BYU found iron ore was, as Phillips
writes, “a tiny exposure of basement rock at a small wadi between Raykut and Mughsayl.”
Perhaps of even greater interest is the fact
that in the 1950’s, American archaeologist
Wendall Phillips discovered at Khor Rori
seven bronze plates engraved with text. Four
of the plates had Thamudic script etched on
them, while the three remaining plates were
written in the yet-to-be-deciphered south
Arabian “Shahri” language.110 Most recently
another large bronze plate was excavated at
Khor Rori. According to the Office of the
Adviser to His Majesty the Sultan for Cultural
Affairs (Oman), “In 2013 a complete inscribed
bronze plaque has been discovered at the
Figure 14 Page showing bronze plaque discovery at Khor Rori. site. The text mentions the name of one of
the governors of the city.”111
Lehi appears to have been a man of considerable wealth (1 Nephi 3:25). As such, in antiquity it
would have been odd that the son of a man of such means would have been involved in manual
labor. Assuming this is the case, one might ask "Is Khor Rori where Nephi learned to work in
106
Zarins, 37. Site TA 95:227 is on the west side of wadi Sinur (see fig. 28 “Archeological sites located on the
Salalah Plain (1992-1995).” The distance to Khor Rori is 4 miles.
107
Phillips, Wm. Revell (2) “Metals of the Book of Mormon”, Journal of Book of Mormon Studies, Vol. 9 Number 2,
2000, F.A.R.M.S., 38.
108
Bradshaw, Jeffrey M., (Senior Research Scientist, Institute for Human and Machine Cognition, Pensacola,
Florida, [email protected]) email correspondence with authors, including photographs of copper and iron
smelting slag found at the ruins of Sumhuram as well as the remains of a smelting furnace inside the city dating to
the Sumhuram 1 period. Dr. Bradshaw was shown the copper and iron smelting slag and furnace by Saeed Al-
Mashori, supervisor of the Khor Rori excavation for the Al-Bilad Archaeological Park, Salalah, Oman on 30 May
2006.)
109
Author observed both bronze plates on exhibit at the Heritage Museum, Frankincense Museum Hall of History,
November 28, 2008.
110
Al-Shahri, Ali, Khor Rori historian, conversation with George Potter on 23 September 2006. Confirmed with
conversation with S. Kent Brown, BYU.
111
Office of the Adviser to His Majesty the Sultan for Cultural Affairs, Khor Rori (Sumhuram) Six years later 2008-
2014 (Mina Al Fahal, Oman, 2015), 13.
45
metal and, more particularly, how he learned to preserve a history on metal plates, or master
the sophisticated art of forging and crafting fine swords after the manner of the sword of Laban
(2 Nephi 5:14)?" The on-going Italian archaeological mission to Khor Rori has discovered in
recent years a variety of metal artifacts that are currently on display in the Land of the
Frankincense Museum in Salalah including finely crafted swords.
Long straight hardwoods for shipbuilding
Nephi needed hardwood to build a ship strong enough to survive an ocean crossing. The naïve
assumption is often made that Nephi used trees that grew in Bountiful to build his ship. This
overlooks one major problem--nearly all of the woods native to Dhofar in southern Oman are
permeable softwoods and could not be used for shipbuilding112. The hardwoods that are found
in Oman are short, gnarly, and unsuitable for the fabrication of the massive structural
components of a large sailing vessel as Nephi needed. Historically, hardwoods had to be
imported into Arabia for shipbuilding. The first record of timber being imported into the Persian
Gulf region from foreign lands dates to an inscription of Ur-Nanshe, King of Lagash in Sumer in
about 2500 BC113
Hardwood, or an impermeable softwood, was an absolute requirement for the building of a

seaworthy ship. Indian archaeologist Ratnagar points out that “In the historic period, most
Indian boats were made of teak. Even Arab craft were made on the west coast of India, due to
the availability of wood.”114 Regarding the source of wood for ships built in Oman, Tom Vosmer,
Director of the Traditional Boats of Oman Project, noted, “Most, if not all, planking timber had
to be imported; teak (Tectona grandis), venteak (Lythracea lanceolata), mango (Mangifera
indica), as did spar timber.”115 Famed maritime archaeologist Severin noted, “The timber for
building Omani ships is brought nearly 1,300 miles from the Malabar coast of India. It is a trade
which goes as far back as the earliest records, because Oman lacks trees large enough to
provide first-class boat timber.”116
The softwoods that grow in Dhofar never would have been strong enough to survive long at
sea. Hardwoods are used not only for their strength but also for their longevity. The wood used
112
Softwoods and hardwoods can be differentiated by the material that fills the cells of each. The cellular structure
of softwoods, with few exceptions, is filled with water. Hardwoods, on the other hand, have solid material inside
the cells. Therefore, softwoods make poor building materials when exposed to the weather because water passes
easily through the cell wall. The solid material in the cells of hardwoods provides a resistance to the transfer of
water through the material. The exceptions to this rule are cedar, cypress, and California Redwood, which have
cells filled with a resinous material which provides the same type of resistance to water transfer as do the
hardwoods. For further reference, see Bruce Haodley, Understanding Wood, (Bethel, Conn.: Bethel Books, 1997).
113
Weisgerber, Gerd, “Dilmun—A Trading Entrepot” in Bahrain through the Ages the Archeology (London: KPI Ltd,
1986), 137.
114
Ratnagar, Sherren, Encounters: The Westerly Trade of the Harappa Civilization (New Delhi: Oxford University
Press, 1981), 164–65.
115
Email to the authors from Tom Vosmer, 25 May 2000.
116
Severin, Sindbad Voyage, 31.
46
for a boat is subject to many dangers, particularly marine borers that attack the boat and
decompose it very rapidly. Some species of tropical ship worms grow to six feet in length and
attain the thickness of a man’s arm.117 If the reader has not sailed in the open seas aboard a
wooden ship, it is hard to understand the relentless pressures the waves displace upon the
planks and the absolute necessity to have a strong reinforced hull.
In order to carry all of the provisions needed for a long transoceanic journey, Nephi would have
needed a ship that was large by the standards of the day. Let us recall that maritime Tim
Severin built an 80-foot long replica wooden medieval Omani ship, the Sohar that he sailed
from Oman to China. Granted that his ship was a medieval replica, still, his basic needs would
have been similar to Nephi’s because wooden ships changed little in design until the 16th
century AD 118 While Severin’s vessel was probably not identical in size to Nephi’s, the list of
materials Severin needed to build his ship is useful because it gives us a general idea of the
magnitude of the amount of materials Nephi would have needed to construct his ship.
Severin had to find a tree suitable for the 81-foot main spar and a 65-foot log that was to be
tapered into the mast.119 He wrote that a ship’s keel “is long, straight and massive; it is the very
backbone of the vessel…the piece to my replica needed to be 52 feet long, 12 inches by 15
inches in cross section, and dead straight.”120 Severin imported the timber for his Arab ship
from India because Oman historically lacked “suitable timber for large boat building.” 121 If good
shipbuilding timber never grew in Oman, then Nephi must have used, like the Arab shipwrights,
imported materials from India and the islands thereabout. The Omani Ministry of National
Heritage and Culture notes this of Omani shipbuilding: “Teak and coconut woods were used
exclusively for building hulls. Teak had to be imported from India… Indeed, the virtues of the
wood would have been known in the Gulf from the earliest sea voyages to the Indus in the third
millennium BC.” The Omani Ministry adds, “Coconut wood also had to be imported—mainly
from the Maldives and Laccadive Islands from where it is possible that the coconut tree spread
to Dhofar in the Middle Ages.”122 Recent discoveries in Egypt confirm that Indian teak wood
was used for construction of ancient ships of Egypt that sailed the Indian Ocean.123
But would this timber imported from India have been available to Nephi at Khor Rori in the 6th
century BC? The Omani Ministry of National Heritage and Culture says that Dhofar “grew from
obscure beginnings before 1,000 BC…. Its growth was the major stimulus to the re-opening and
117
Morton, Harry, The Winds Commands: Sailor and Sailing Ships in the Pacific (Middletown, Conn.: Wesleyan
University Press, 1975), 207.
118
Illsley, John, “History and Archaeology of the Ship, Lecture Notes, Nautical Archaeology,” (Bangor University,
May 5, 2000), lecture 2, p.1. http://www.cma.soton.ac.uk/HistShip/shlect02.htm
119
Tim Severin, The Sindbad Voyage, 43.
120
Tim Severin, The Sindbad Voyage, 37, 38.
121
Severin, Tim (2) “Construction of the Omani Boom Sohar,” The Sewn Plank Boats, Ed. Sean McGrail and Eric
Kentley.( BAR International Series, 276. Oxford: B.A.R. , 1985) 279-80.
122 nd
Omani Ministry of National Heritage and Culture (MNHC), Oman, a Seafaring Nation, 2 ed. (Sultan of Oman:
Oriental Printing Press, 1991), 107.
123
Wilford, John Noble, “Under Centuries of Sand, a Trading Hub” July 9, 2002,
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/07/09/science/09SILK.html?ex=1027207913&ei=1&en=ed0f8dbf96a1968a,
accessed 2002.
47
expansion of Indian Ocean maritime routes.”124 German maritime archaeologist Dr. Norbert
Weismann, who specializes in Oman, writes of Dhofar, “Certainly it was involved in the traffic to
India in Greco-Roman times, but there was trade with white India much earlier.”125
The Book of Mormon’s text alludes to the fact that the timber used to build Nephi’s ship had
already been cut somewhere else. He wrote, “We did work timbers of curious workmanship” (1
Nephi 18:1). How could the timbers have been curious to Nephi and his workers if they had
logged and cut the lumber themselves? Apparently, some of the timbers Nephi used to
construct his ship were pre-cut in an unfamiliar manner or a manner that he would modify. We
suggest this because, we know that hardwoods were being imported into the Arabian Gulf since
the third millennium BC and that a few centuries after the time of Christ their export from India
in the form of precut beams and rafters was a common practice.126
Solomon had a navy of Tarshish (“ships of Tarshish - the name came to…denote ships of the
largest size suitable for long voyages”127 Tarshish in the LDS Bible Dictionary) bringing gold, and
silver, ivory, and apes and peacocks” from Ophir (1 Kings 10:11,22). It is often suggested that
Tarshish was a port on the Indian Ocean and it has been put forward that Ophir is synonymous
with modern Dhofar.128 The three-year long voyage of Solomon’s ships of Tarshish returned
with peacocks, which are found in India (but not Africa).129 These ships must have been to India
or traded with merchants from India who would have been found at Indian Ocean ports like
Khor Rori. The ships of Tarshish also returned carrying Almug wood, a hardwood that was used
in the construction of the Temple and was presumably not native to Dhofar but imported from
India.130 It should be noted that “Almug” appears in the plural form, which Biblical scholars
have taken to mean that the wood was delivered in planks.131 William Phillips writes, “No trees
124
MNHC (Omani Ministry of National Heritage and Culture), Oman, a Seafaring Nation, 20, 22.
125
Weismann, Norbert, email correspondence with authors, Kamen, Germany, 0230774382-0001@t-onliine, 17
May 2000.
126
MNHC 107,108.
127
LDS Bible Dictionary, “Tarshish”.
128
Thomas, Bertram, The Arabs (London: Thornton Butterworth, 1937), 262. Groom notes the similarity between
the names of Zufar (Dhofar) and Ophir: “Zufar is sometimes proposed as a likely word etymologically close to
Ophir, while the nineteenth-century traveler Vod Wrede observed that the Mahra of south Arabia, who lived
adjacent to Zufar and whose language has very ancient origins, used the word ‘ofir’ to mean “red” and called
themselves the tribe of ‘Ofir’, meaning the ‘red country.’” (Groom, Nigel, Frankincense and Myrrh, A Study of the
Arabian Incense Trade (London: Longman, 1981), 49-50.)
129
see: “peafowl” The New Shorter Oxford English Dictionary, Edited by Lesley Brown, Vol. 2 (Oxford: Clarendon
Press, 1993), 2132.
130
Almug (1 Kings 10:11, 12) = algum (2 Chr. 2:8; 9:10-11), in the Hebrew occurring only in the plural almuggim
(indicating that the wood was brought in planks): the name of a wood brought from Ophir to be used in the
building of the temple and for other purposes. Some suppose it to have been the white sandal-wood of India, the
Santalum album of botanists, a native of the mountainous parts of the Malabar coasts. It is a fragrant wood, and is
used in China for incense in idol-worship. Others, with some probability, think that it was the Indian red sandal-
wood, the pterocarpus santalinus, a heavy, fine-grained wood, the Sanscrit name of which is valguka. It is found on
the Coromandel coast and in Ceylon. (M.G. Easton, 1897 Bible Dictionary, World Wide Web Version
http://www.ccel.org/e/easton/ebd/ebd/T0000100.html#T0000182 )
131 .
(M.G. Easton, 1897 Bible Dictionary, World Wide Web Version
http://www.ccel.org/e/easton/ebd/ebd/T0000100.html#T0000182 )
48
grow in Oman that could provide suitable planking for Nephi’s ship, either today or probably in
the past. Trees are very scarce in the Dhofar, and those of significant size tend to yield gnarly,
punky wood…We know that Indian teak was transported along the Omani coast from the
earliest times, and perhaps Nephi bartered for shipbuilding lumber on the docks at Khor
Rori.”132
Cotton fabric for sails strong enough to power a large ship and endure a long voyage
Before modern fabrics, oceangoing sailing ships required several sets of sails. Sails made from
traditional materials stretch and need to be replaced. By the time Severin reached India from
Oman in his replica ship, he had to replace the sails133 His replacement sails required 2½ tons of
canvas. Furthermore, different sets of sails are required for night sailing, while stormy
conditions require smaller sails than for light winds. One of the sails on Severin’s ship alone
measured 3,000 square feet.134
Traditionally, the sails on Arab ships were woven from palm leaves or preferably made from
cotton cloth.135 Nephi would have needed huge amounts of cotton to fabricate the several sets
of sails he needed for his long journey to the Americas. The fact that the Book of Mormon
points to Nephi building his ship at Khor Rori is another evidence of the book’s complete
harmony with what is known about ancient Arabia. As noted before, cotton and date palms
have been shown to have grown at Khor Rori in antiquity, possible as early as 4000 BC.136
Thus, cotton would have been available either as a locally-grown product or imported from
India or Egypt; “Fine linen with broidered work from Egypt was that which thou spreadest forth
to be thy sail” (Ezekiel 27:7). According to the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea137, cloth was one
of the products the inhabitants of Khor Rori imported in return for their frankincense. 138 Ibn al-
Mujawir wrote in 1221 AD that caravans bought fabrics from Baghdad to Dhofar [where Khor
132
Phillips, Wm. Revell, “Mughsayl: Another Candidate for Land Bountiful”, 56.
133
Ibid., 132.
134
Ibid., 133.
135
MNHC, 113.
136
Cremaschi, Mauro and Alessandro Perego, “Land Use and Settlement pattern in the Archaeological Sumhuram:
An intensive survey at Khor Rori,” Sumhuram preliminary Report (Pisa: University of Pisa, 2006), 23, 27 making
reference to M. Mariotti Lippi, “Indagini palinologiche nel site archeologicao di Sumhuram (Khor Rori) in Dhofar
(Oman), “Primi risultati,Egitto e Vincino Oriente (20020, 25, 145, 149. M. Mariotti Lippi, R. Becattini, and T.
Gonnelli,”Archeopalinology at Sumhuram (Dhofar, Sultanate of Oman)” in Archaeological Studies: Khor Rori Report
1, ed. Avanzini (Pisa: Edizioni Plus, Pisa, 2002).
137
The Periplus, literally meaning ‘round trip’, is an account of a trading journey between Egypt and India made by
an unknown merchant or ship’s master. The date of authorship is not known and may be somewhere between 40
AD and the early 3rd century.
138
The Periplus Of The Erythraean Sea by an unknown author with some extracts from Agatharkhides 'On The
Erythraean Sea', Translated and edited by G. W. B. Huntingford. (The Hakluyt Society, c/o the British Library,
London, 1980) chapter 32.
49
Rori is located].139 As noted earlier, cotton was introduced in southern Arabia in antiquity,
possibly as early as 4000 BC.140
Shipwrights
While some students of the Book of Mormon might disagree, any serious maritime
archaeologist would find it extremely unlikely that someone from Jerusalem, a land with no
shipbuilding lore, could build a large seaworthy ship without the help of skilled shipwrights.
The Book of Mormon makes two things quite clear about the construction of Nephi’s ship. First,
when Nephi arrived in Bountiful he did not know how to build a ship (1 Nephi 17:18-19).
Second, the Lord instructed Nephi from time to time in the construction of the ship (1 Nephi
17:51). What is unclear for us is what did the Lord instruct Nephi. Was it in how to modify a ship
to make it strong enough to reach the New World (1 Nephi 17:8; 18:2)? Or, did the Lord provide
specific instructions on how to fabricate a ship, including where to find skilled shipbuilding
master craftsmen who could help Nephi with his ship?
Certainly, one man could not have constructed a ship by himself of the size Nephi needed. The
timbers required are far too heavy to lift or hold in place during construction by just one man.
At the same time, the Book of Mormon hints that Nephi’s brothers may not have continually
helped him. While he wrote that his brothers repented and helped him work timbers (1 Nephi
18:1), Nephi did not give them credit for actually building the ship (“neither did I *not we+ build
the ship after the manner of men” (1 Nephi 18:2). Further, he wrote that “after I had finished
the ship…my brethren beheld that it was good, and that the workman ship thereof was
exceedingly fine” (1 Nephi 18:4). This passage may suggest that Nephi constructed much of his
ship away from the sight of his brothers, and only when they finally beheld the finished ship did
they see that it was of excellent workmanship.
If his brothers were not always helping him construct a ship of such fine workmanship, then
who was assisting him? Even if his brothers did periodically assist Nephi, the skills needed to do
all the work surely exceeded what Nephi’s untrained brothers could offer. Who, then, could be
of skilled assistance? Though desolate today, in antiquity Khor Rori was a principal market
place. In the year 2000 the World Heritage Committee of the United Nations Educational,
Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) designated Khor Rori as a World Heritage site,
noting its trade in frankincense as “one of the most important trading activities of the ancient
and medieval world.”141 Shipwrights of Magan, in northern Oman, are mentioned in a text from
139
Zarins, 20.
140
Zarins, 60.
141
“Report of the World Heritage Committee of the United Nations, Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization,” Convention Concerning The Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage, Cairns,
Australia, 27 November to 2 December 2000. „Oman -The Frankincense Trail (C iii iv)
http://whc.unesco.org/en/news/184.
50
the Sumerian city of Lagash of about 2000 BC.142 Dhofar also would appear to have its own
tradition of ship building.
Several kinds of ancient ships are depicted in rock art drawings found in caves in sight of Khor
Rori (just 2.5 miles from the harbor).143 The stick figure representations of humans in the Khor
Rori ships give the drawings a rough dating of 1000 BC144 According to Muhammed Abdul
Nayeem, professor of archaeology and museology at King Saud University, the rock art
drawings of ships in Dhofar “are different from the presentations in northern Oman.” 145 The
implication is that the unique style of ships depicted on the rocks near Khor Rori means that the
ancients who lived there built ships and did so in their own style. The rock art seems to confirm
that Khor Rori had active shipbuilders long before Nephi’s arrival. The Omani Ministry of
National Heritage and Culture states that shipbuilding at Dhofar may go back into great
antiquity.146 Of course, the tangible evidence of shipbuilding at Khor Rori is the ruins of the
eight shipbuilding ways (ramps) noted above. Without doubt Nephi needed experienced
shipwrights to construct a ship strong enough to reach the promised land, and the Book of
Mormon shows us how the Lord led Nephi to this vital resource.
Open-ocean sea captains who taught Nephi to sail
Rabbi Shim’on ben Laqish listed elements necessary for

building and sailing a ship. Lastly he listed ‘seamen.’ Nephi
needed a crew and he needed to acquire the skills to train
them. It takes years to learn and practice skills needed to
control a sizeable sailing vessel at sea. A large Omani sailing
dhow [ship] required a crew of between 25-40 trained
seamen. 147 Frank Linehan, an experienced transoceanic
sailboat skipper, notes, “Even with the inspiration of the
Lord, it was simply impossible for Nephi to have sailed to
the New World without training.” 148 Historian Maurizio Tosi
writes of the ancient Arabian captains: “For the first
navigators it was like venturing into outer space and only a
body of accumulated experience, strengthened by tradition,
would have ensured their survival at sea.”149 For Nephi, the
same learning experience had to take place.
142
MNHC, 16.
143
Al-Shahri, Ali took George Potter and 14 other LDS members to the caves on 22 September 2006.
144
Abdul Nayeem, Muhammed The Rock Art of Arabia (India: Hyderabad Publishers, 2000), 447.
145
Ibid. 445.
146
MNHC. 146.
147
MNHC, 96.
148
Linehan, Frank, personal communications with the authors, June, 1999.
149
Tosi, Maurizio, “Early Maritime Cultures of the Arabian Gulf and the Indian Ocean,” in Bahrain through the Ages
the Archeology (London: KPI Ltd, 1986), 94.
51
Nephi could not have merely guessed how to sail the Pacific Ocean or have succeeded unless
both he and his crew knew what they were doing. The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea gave
instructions to ancient Greek sailors. It informed them that Khor Rori was the safe haven in the
Indian Ocean for their ships to hold up in the winter: “The place goes by the name of Moscha—
where ships from Cana (Yemen) are customarily sent; ships come from Dimyrike (southern
India) and Barygaza (modern day Broach in India) which cruise nearby, spend the winter there
due to the lateness of the season.”150 Undoubtedly the later Greek captains learned from the
Arabs before them the advantages of mooring in the protected waters of Khor Rori during the
winter northeast monsoons. Here over the winter at Khor Rori were experienced captains with
idle time to spend who knew how to sail a large ship across the open seas of the Indian Ocean
from whom Nephi could learn to sail.
Financing Nephi’s Ship
How did Nephi acquire the funds to engage shipwrights, purchase large quantities of building
materials, and perhaps even hire seasoned seamen to train his crew? There are several
possibilities. First, biblical scholars believe that wise King Solomon achieved great wealth by
taking control of the frankincense trade. He did so by forming alliances with such characters of
the Queen of Sheba of southern Arabia.151 To secure his interest, Groom and other scholars cite
that the king established a Jewish trading colony at Khor Rori. Since Lehi spoke at least two
languages and had considerable wealth, some believe he was a successful merchant. Before he
even left the land of Jerusalem, Lehi might have had on-going trade relations with the Jewish
traders at Khor Rori. Lehi had significant property holdings in the land of Jerusalem and could
have sold these properties to the Jewish traders of Khor Rori. A second possible source of funds
could have come from tutoring the children of the ruling families who lived on the Salalah
coastal plain. The inhabitants of the frankincense lands were in Nephi’s time one of the richest
people on earth. Reading, writing and mathematics skills were extremely rare in the ancient
world. Nephi’s family could read and write in multiple languages. While Nephi was building his
ship, the adult male and female members of the family could have raised funds by tutoring the
children of the wealthy families of the area. Third, we are not told how many camels Lehi’s
family needed to make the journey to Salalah with all their provisions and heavy tents. It could
have been a hundred of more. Camels were needed to export the frankincense overland from
Khor Rori and would have garnered a good price at the source of the trail north.
The S/V Nephi
When I wrote The Voyages of the Book of Mormon with Engineers Frank Linehan and Conrad
Dickson, I knew these mariners were expert sailors, both having sailed over one million miles
during their time at sea. I also knew that they were skilled craftsmen, having built and repaired
their own sailing vessels. It was also obvious that both of these fine LDS members were
students of ancient shipbuilding.
150
Periplus of the Erythraean Sea as quoted in MNHC, 26.
151
LDS Bible dictionary, “Sheba”.
52
However, I did not realize that Conrad Dickson was a master woodworker and a genius at
making maritime models. After finishing our book, Conrad set out to create a model of what
Nephi’s ship would have looked like. He
used Frank’s design specifications to
create the scaled model.
To appreciate Brother Dickson’s love for

the Book of Mormon, one should
realize that he spent close to 3,000
hours on building the model.
Why such a huge effort? Conrad is

determined to raise enough money to
actually build a full-size replica of
Nephi’s ship and sail it from Arabia to
Peru. Conrad wants to christen the
replica the S/V Nephi. I hope that within
the next year or two the Nephi Project Figure 15 Conrad Dickson's model of Nephi's Ship
can start this massive project.
The Temple at Khor Rori
The recently excavated temple at Khor Rori has revealed several extraordinary artifacts,as well
as an architectural design that could be of interest to LDS members. What we know for certain
is that Nephi converted people while he traveled in the
wilderness from Jerusalem (D&C 33:7,8).
All that remains today of the temple at Khor Rori is its

foundation. The building once consisted of three rooms, one
which contained an altar. Archaeological architects have
reconstructed what they believe was the design of the
temple. As noted before, archaeologists have uncovered
several smelters at Khor Rori. In the book Khor Rori
(Sumhuram), by the Office of the Adviser to His Majesty the
Sultan for Cultural Affairs, we read: “Many of these bronze
objects seem to have been cast with the lost-wax technique
Figure 16 Model of Khor Rori Temple, and finished by hammering and engraving.”152 Some of the
Museum at Khor Rori. Courtesy of R. artifacts found at the temple were metal plaques.
Putman.
What I found interesting is that a stone box still rests in the
remains of the temple. The question begs to be asked, did the stone box at the temple once
contain metal scriptures. Among the artifacts recovered from the Khor Rori temple is a cast
metal bowl with writing on it.
152
Office of the Advisor to His Majesty the Sultan of Cultural Affairs, Khor Rohi (Sumhuram), 32.
53
Visiting Khor Rori today
Why not visit Nephi’s harbor? Oman is a wonderful nation to visit, and cruise ships dock at the
man-made harbor at Salalah just a 30 minute drive from Khor Rori. Today, the hotels and cruise
ships have guided excursions to Wadi Darbat and the ancient harbor of Khor Rori.
The natural harbor is located at the end of the famous frankincense trail, the only trail that
existed down through Arabia in Lehi’s era. In our DVD Discovering Lehi’s Trail, Timothy and I
provide video evidence of why Khor Rori is the best candidate for where Nephi built his ship.
The scholastic evidence for our theory is documented and is found in my books Lehi in the
Wilderness (with Richard Wellington) and The Voyages of the Book of Mormon (with Frank
Linehan and Conrad Dickson).
When Richard and I first discovered Khor Rori, it was completely void of active archaeological
activity or any other human activity outside of shepherds grazing their goats. In the year 2000,
Khor Rori was designated a World Heritage Site by the United Nations. Since then, much has
changed. There is now an active excavation being conducted at Khor Rori. During our most
recent visit to the ruins of the frankincense processing plant and fortress at Khor Rori called
Sumhuram, we were told by the Italian excavation team that there was not just one ore
smelter, but several places in the ruins of Khor Rori where ore was turned into metal.
Undoubtedly Nephi had ample opportunity to learn how to work metal for tools to build his
ship and also for making plates on which he wrote the record of his people.
We also found that a small museum has been built at Khor Rori, which includes a full-size
replica of a traditional Omani ship. The ship now stands near the ancient shipbuilding ramps
that were used during Nephi’s time. While the replica ship is not of ancient design, resting on
the banks of Khor Rori, it helps illustrate the value this ancient harbor held for shipwrights and
for crews of the trading ships. Stand on the 100-foot tall cliffs of the natural breakwater of Khor
Rori and ponder how Nephi might have died if his brothers were able to cast him into deep
water.
Since antiquity, the monsoon storms in the Indian Ocean have been casting large waves all
along the Omani shoreline, while the calm waters of Khor Rori protected the ships it harbored.
Indeed, while on expedition in Oman, I met an American surfer who said that day he had surfed
15-foot faces (of waves) along the beaches a short distance from the harbor. So why not visit
Khor Rori and witness all this for yourself?
Summary
By following Nephi’s instructions of traveling south-southeast and later due east through
Arabia, one finds all the essential materials Nephi needed to build his ship as well as craftsmen
54
who could have taught him the art of constructing a large sailing ship. No other port existed in
southern Oman during Lehi’s time that had these resources. Indeed, Khor Rori appears to
explain why the Liahona led the family through an extremely difficult eight-year passage
through the great desert. Khor Rori was the one place Nephi had all the essential tangible and
intellectual resources he needed to successfully take his family to the Promised Land. And
where were these resources found? At the end of the Frankincense Trail which the Book of
Mormon so accurately describes. There is only one feasible explanation for this. The Book of
Mormon is an eye-witness account of a crossing of Arabia and the building a ship. A perfect
narrative that Joseph Smith could never have fabricated in the back woods of New York State in
1830.
Learn more by watching our six-part documentary DVD, Discovering Lehi’s Trail or reading our
full-color book, Voyages of the Book of Mormon. All three are available through our site
www.nephiproject.com. The books Lehi in the Wilderness and the Voyages of the Book of
Mormon can be ordered at Cedar Fort: http://www.cedarfort.com.
55
Figure 17 Waterfall that seperates Wadi Darbat from Khor Rori. Courtesy of C. Van Lagen
56
The Lord commanded them that they
should go forth into the wilderness,
yea, into that quarter where there
never had man been. Ether 2:5
Chapter Four
The Jaredites
The Book of Mormon record of the Jaredite migration to the New World is so ancient and brief
that few authors have tried to expound upon it, let alone show that it is another remarkable
witness to the truthfulness of the book. On a Sabbath day in 1996, I read the book of Ether, the
fourteenth book in the Book of Mormon. The saga of the Jaredites had always interested me,
but that day a light seemed to turn on as I read, “The Lord commanded them [Jaredites] that
they should go forth into the wilderness, yea, into that quarter where there never had man
been” (Ether 2:5). A quarter? Where no one had ever been? At that moment, I realized that the
Jaredite exodus was likely through the most hellish place on earth, the famous Empty Quarter
of the Arabian wilderness, so named because there is no signs of humans ever living there. With
this insight, my studies led to an even more interesting possibility – that the Book of Mormon’s
brother of Jared may have been none other than the Biblical seaman named Ophir and that the
Jaredites left from the same harbor as Nephi’s ship.
According to the Book of Mormon the Jaredites were initially instructed go north to the Valley
of Nimrod, where they met the Lord (Ether 2:1,4). In Nimrod they acquired provisions for their
long journey (Ether 2:2-3). After stocking their provisions, the Lord gave them specific
instructions to “go forth into the wilderness” (Ether 2:5) which usually meant desert. It would
appear then that the Jaredites traveled south into Arabia. We can assume this because the
great desert or wilderness approximate to the valley of Nimrod was Arabia. Further, it was not
just any wilderness, but “that quarter where there never had man been.” This clue is
meaningless to most Westerners, but for anyone born in the Near East, where the Jaredites
started their migration, it is a clear reference to southern Arabia. To an Arab, crossing the
quarter where no man had ever been is as descriptive as telling an American that the Utah
pioneers crossed the Rocky Mountains.
Near East mythology holds that God created the world, and that two quarters were where
people lived, another quarter was the sea, and the last quarter was the desert where no man
could survive. To this day, the great sand desert of southern Arabia is called the Ar Rub Khali or
Empty Quarter. It is a sea of sand dunes larger than the state of Utah. It is the largest sand
desert in the world. There is still no archaeological evidence that man has ever dwelt therein.153
153
With the discovery of oil in Saudi Arabia permanent in recent years and at great cost oil worker camps have
been established in the Empty Quarter.
57
There is only one known route through the Empty Quarter, the Dakakah Trail. The trail is not a
trail in the traditional sense, that is, there are no worn tracks in the sand. It is a series of
distanced watering holes, that if found, can support a passage through the great sea of sand
dunes. Surprisingly the trail ends at the same place where Lehi’s Frankincense route
terminated, at the Salalah Coastal Plain on the Indian Ocean in Oman. In other words, the only
trail across eastern Arabia and the Empty Quarter leads straight to the body of water that
Nephi called Irreantum, meaning many waters (1 Nephi 17:5). The Jaredites used the same
term “many waters” (Ether 2:6) suggesting that it was a possible Book of Mormon place-name
that identified a particular location–the waters off southern Arabia. It would also be true that if
the Jaredites embarked from Khor Rori, the same harbor where the Lord led Nephi, they would
have had to cross many bodies of water (seas and oceans) to reach the New World. The
question begs to be asked, “Does the Book of Mormon account support this theory, and if it
does, how could Joseph Smith have had the slightest chance of knowing places and conditions
in Arabia that existed nearly five thousand years ago?
A Mountain of Exceeding Height
While camped by the sea, the brother of Jared met the Lord on a mountain he described as
being of “exceeding height” (Ether 3:1). The great mountain noted by the brother of Jared was
located near the seashore where they built their ships because the brother of Jared carried
sixteen stones up the mountain as the final piece of equipment for their barges. As mentioned
before, rising above Khor Rori stands Mount Samban, which reaches a height of six thousand
feet. It is the tallest mountain in all of southern Oman. Mount Samban is a mountain of
religious significance. Not only is it possibly the mountain where the Lord appeared to the
brother of Jared, it is probably the mountain where the Lord spoke to Nephi and is one of the
few mountains that is mentioned in the Bible (Genesis 10:30). 154
White Clear Stones
The brother of Jared melted out of a rock sixteen stones that were “white and clear, even as
transparent glass” (Ether 3:1). Arabia is famous for its clear quartz, so transparent that it is cut
into semi-precious stones called the “Diamonds of the Sultans” (also known as Desert
Diamonds and Qaysumah Diamonds). These clear stones are found throughout Arabia and are
mined in the Empty Quarter.155 Veins of quartz are found in the mountains of southern
Oman.156 Today, Oman exports silicon quartz sand for the production of semi-conductors157.
Besides quartz, Oman mines other ophiolites (plagioclase crystals that form augites) and gems.
The plagiogranites of Oman are dominated by quartz, plagioclase, albite, muscovite, and
epilote.158
154
Potter George and Richard Wellington, “Discovering the Lehi/Nephi Trail,” 2000, unpublished.
155
“Diamonds of the Sultans,” http://www.adventurearabia.com/diamondsnf/htm. Accessed May 2010.
156
http://gcubad.magnet.fsu/publicationfinal;articles/BGT/1999GC000002/a1999GC000002.html;
http://www.amf.com.au/amf/porph98d.html. accessed June 2010.
157
“Oman Exports Quartz,” http://www.trade-port.org/ts/countries/Oman/tradcx.html. Accessed June 2010.
158
www.campublic.co.uk/science/publications/jconfabs/4/376.htm. Accessed May 2010.
58
At the request of the brother of Jared, the Lord touched the clear “stones to shine in darkness”
(Ether 3:6;6:3). One interesting gem of southern Arabia is the “Oman Magic Perfume
Gemstone,” which soaks up liquids. If the gem is soaked in perfume, the gemstone remains
fragrant for years.159 If the Creator can make gems that retain fragrances and quartz sand that
can be used for computer chips which process electrons and can transmit or store trillions of
bits of information, then why not a simple miracle of having stones retain light?
Honeybees
Honeybees were not native to much of the ancient world. The earliest Biblical record of honey
is when Jacob (Israel) instructed his sons to take a gift of honey to the Egyptian (Joseph) to try
to win the release of his two sons (Genesis 43:11). Yet hundreds of years earlier, the Book of
Mormon records that the Jaredites took honeybees with them from Nimrod to the seashore
where they built their ships. Here the Book of Mormon is in harmony with what is known about
the history of Babel (Sumer). As early as the twenty-first century BC the cuneiform writings of
Sumer and Babylonia mention honeybees.160
What did the Jaredites do with their honeybees when they left for the promised land? When
the Spanish conquered Mexico and Central America, they found that native populations were
beekeepers.161 Yet, the New World bees were not the bees of the Jaredites, rather they were
bees unique to the Americas.162 The European honey bee that Native Americans called “white
man’s flies” were not introduced in the Americas until 1638.163 It is likely that the Jaredite
honeybee was the warm climate dwarf bee Apis florea. The range of these small wild bees is
the warm climates of southeast Asia. The bees of Mesopotamia could have been native or could
have been brought there via India, which had bees at that time and traded with Sumer.164
The wild Apis Florea bees provide an intriguing aspect of the Book of Mormon account. When
the Jaredites left for the New World, they left their swarms of honeybees in the land where
they built their barges. We can speculate on this for three reasons: (1) among the list of items
the Jaredites took with them on their ships there is no mention of honey bees, only honey; (2)
since the Jaredites sailed in somewhat air tight barges, it would have made sense to leave the
bees behind; and (3) Old World bees were not native in the New World.
The most suitable place for the Jaredites to build their barges was the inlet of Khor Rori where
Nephi later constructed his ship. Nephi wrote that “we did come to the land which we called
Bountiful, because of its much fruit and also wild honey, and all these things were prepared by
the Lord that we might not perish” (1 Nephi 17:5, italics added). Nephi may have realized or
learned that the Lord had prepared Bountiful with, wild, not domesticated, honey. To this day,
159
http://www.utech.co.uk/world/middleeast/oman/facts/html. Accessed June 2010.
160
http://billybee.com/infocenter.html. Accessed June 2010.
161
Ibid.
162
Ibid.
163
Ibid.
164
http://billybee.com/infocenter.html. Accessed June 2010 and Ministry of National Heritage and Culture, Oman,
A Seafaring Nation, 14-15.
59
honey in Oman is still gathered mostly as wild honey, and the bees are still considered wild,
being only “somewhat managed”.165 Local residents have shown me where wild honey is still
harvested at Khor Rori. Further, with the exception of Oman where Khor Rori is found,
honeybees are not native to Arabia, an area the size of Europe. So how did these wild honey
bees originally come to Oman and nowhere else in Arabia? Did they fly across the Persian Gulf?
Or were they left by the Jaredites as one of the ways the area was prepared by the Lord for
Nephi’s party? (1 Nephi 17:5)
The Jaredites were a “Very Large Race of Men
Our first indication that the Jaredites were a physically large people is found in the Book of
Mosiah when King Limhi describes finding a land “covered with the bones of men…” and also
finding large breastplates (Mosiah 8:8-10). The second reference to the physical largeness of
the Jaredites is in the Book of Ether where they are described as “large and mighty men” (Ether
15:26). The large stature of the Jaredites gives another specific clue in seeking to identify the
place where the Jaredites built ships. Khor Rori had a large sized people living there for at least
a short period of time around 2500 BC. The ruling tribe that lived in the Salalah coastal plain
during that time was the Adites. According to local tradition, the Adites were giants. 166
Metal Plates
The Jaredites possessed a technology that was very rare in the ancient world. They knew how
to refine metal and to hammer it into gold plates that could be inscribed on (Mosiah 8:9,
21:27). As noted in chapter two, artifacts excavated at Khor Rori include a small bronze
plaque167 and also seven bronze plates with text on them. In 2007, yet another bronze plate
with writing on it was discovered at Khor Rori and is now on exhibit at the Land of the
Frankincense Museum in Salalah, Oman. If the Jaredites had this technology when they left
Sumer and built their ships at Khor Rori, the Book of Mormon provides a sound explanation of
1) how the people at Khor Rori were able to make metal plates and inscribed on them when
Nephi arrived, and 2) how Nephi learned smelt ore and hammer it into plates for engraving
text.
The Curious Names of …the Brother of Jared
The Biblical seaman Ophir provides us another amazing reason to believe in the Book of
Mormon. Why? The answer lies in the fact that Biblical Ophir was the brother of Jerah (Genesis
10:26-29), and Jerah appears to have been the Book of Mormon’s Jared.
On the one hand, Joseph Smith’s translation of the Book of Mormon metal plates describes the
family leader Jared requesting that his sibling, referred to as the brother of Jared, call upon God
to know what they should do after the confounding of the languages at Babel (Ether 1:33,38).
165
http://book.nap.edu/books;03094295X.html/364. Accessed June 2010.
166
Clapp, Nicolas, The Road to Ubar (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1998).
167
“Excavations and Restoration of the Complex of Khor Rori, Interim Report” (October 2000-April 2001), (Pisa:
Universita di Pisa, 2001), 4,12-15.
60
On the other hand, the Bible tells us that Jerah fled Babel with Ophir and his other brothers at
the time of the confounding of the languages (Genesis 10:26-30). Scholars believe that Jared
was the leader of his brothers, 168 and that he led his family’s migration to Sephar (Dhofar) in
Oman169 where Khor Rori is located.
Reverend Charles Forster, a preacher in the Cathedral of Christ, Canterbury, provides these
variant spellings for Jerah – Jarah (Arabia Felicis, Jarach, Jare (St. Jerome who translated the
New Testament from an early Greek manuscript), and Jerhä by modern Arabs.170 Smith’s Bible
Dictionary (London, 1863, 1:964) states that “Jared” is the Jered of 1 Chronicles 1:2). According
to Smith and Sjodahl’s commentary on the Book of Ether, some early Bible translations spelled
Jerah, “Jared.”171
Even more impressive are the mutually confirming parallel stories in the books of Genesis and
Ether, which make it probable that Jerah of the Bible and Jared of the Book of Mormon are the
same person (Genesis 10:25-30; 11:1-9). Jerah had a sea-going brother named Ophir. Jerah,
Ophir, and their other brothers moved to Mesha at Sephar, with the mountain on the east
(probably Mount Samban) (Genesis 10:26-30). Many scholars believe Sephar is Zopher or
Dhofar, and that Dhofar is derived from the name Ophir. Dhofar is where Khor Rori is located in
Oman, whose harbor was called Mosha or Mesha) by the Greeks (Genesis 10:30). During the
brothers’ lifetimes, the Lord confounded their languages and the people were scattered. These
are all striking similarities to the Book of Mormon account that is found in the book of Ether.
One element of those parallel accounts is that the brother (Ophir) of Jerah as noted in the Bible
and the brother of Jared in the Book of Mormon who is named Moriancumer 172 each had a
harbor named after them (1 Kings 10:11,22; Ether 2:13). Incredibly, It seems fairly obvious that
the Biblical Ophir and Book of Mormon Moriancumer were the same person, and it appears
that the Biblical character Jerah was none other than the family leader named Jared in the Book
of Mormon.
What at first seems to be two independent accounts of separate events, now appears to be two
authors recounting different but parallel recordings of the same event. The two written
witnesses attest that the migration of Jared’s family to southern Arabia actually took place.
These two witnesses of the migration from Babel confirm the truthfulness of both the Bible and
the Book of Mormon.
Did the Jaredites build their barges at Khor Rori?
The LDS Bible Dictionary states that Ophir was probably a port in southern Arabia. Indeed,
many scholars believe that the port of Khor Rori was the ancient port of Ophir. As noted before,
it is believed that Dhofar is a form of Ophir. The Reverend Charles Forster, for example, sustains
168
Ibid., 115.
169
Forster, Rev. Charles, B.D., The Historical Geography of Arabia (London: Darf Publishers Limited, 1984), 77-133.
170
Ibid., 12.
171
“Jaredites in the Bible,” http://www.exmormon.org.uk/tol_arch/whyprophets/prophets/ophir.htm. Accessed
June 2010.
172
McConkie, Bruce R, Mormon Doctrine (Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1966), 463.
61
the traditional argument that the land of Dhofar, with its port at Khor Rori in the Biblical land of
Sephar.173 Local Khor Rori historian Ali Al-Shahri is a member of the Shahri tribe. As noted
earlier, his own genealogy traces his family line back to the man Ophir. He claims that Khor Rori
is the Biblical port of Ophir174 and that the harbor and its surrounding land belongs to his tribe.
Figure 18 Ali Al-Shahri's sharing his family's genealogy
Ali’s book of his family’s genealogy traces his family roots to the man Ophir and includes a map
indicating that the Ophir tribal lands include Khor Rori.175 It has also been claimed by other
historians that Ophir is the original name for what is called today Khor Rori.176
The Book of Mormon does not indicate that all of the Jaredites and their friends left in the eight
barges for the promised land. Indeed, it seems that the Lord had to chasten the brother of
Jared because they had lived by the sea four years without starting to build their ships (Ether
2:13-14). This tells me that life was good for the Jaredites and that they were in no hurry to
start a dangerous sea voyage to an unknown land. Most likely, some of Jared’s and Ophir’s
families did not favor the idea of sailing for an unknown destination and stayed behind to
become Ali Al-Shahri’s ancestors.
The implications here are powerful. For example, the brother of Jared in the Book of Mormon
appears to have been the Biblical character named Ophir who had a harbor named after him.
173
Forster, Historical Geography of Arabia, 106.
174
Al-Shahri, Language of Aad, 30-35.
175
Ibid.
176
Thomas, Bertram, The Arabs, (London:: Thornton Butterworth, 1937) . 262. Nigel Groom also notes the
similarity between the names Zufar (Dhofar) and Ophir: “Zufar is sometimes proposed as a likely word
etymologically close to Ophir, while the nineteenth-century traveler Vod Wrede observed that the Mahra of south
Arabia, who lived adjacent to Zufar and whose language has very ancient origins, used the word ‘ofir’ to mean ‘red
country;” Groom, Frankincense and Myrrh, 49-50).
62
This seems to be confirmed since the Book of Mormon brother of Jared also had a harbor
named after him, Moriancumer (Ether 2:13). The questions is, why would the same man, the
brother of Jared, be called by two names, Ophir and Moriancumer?
At first it might seem confusing that the brother of Jared was named Ophir in the Bible, but was
not called by that name in the Book of Mormon. Moroni’s abbreviated version of the Book of
Ether was included in the “sacred” Nephite record. The original Jaredite plates were probably
not written until the Jaredites settled in the New World and may not have referred to the
brother of Jared as Ophir or Moriancumer. To understand why, we need to remember that
something very sacred happened to the brother of Jared (Ophir) just before he left the Old
World for the promised land. The brother of Jared may have been given a new or sacred name
when he saw the Lord through the veil (Ether 3:13). Under similar circumstances, new names
were given to Abram (Abraham), Jacob (Israel), Saul (Paul), and other prophets. In other words,
it may be that the man Ophir, who went up the mountain with sixteen stones and came down
the mountain with a new name, Moriancumer, which was not to be used in common
conversation and avoided in written form. Thus, he was thereafter referred to only as Jared’s
brother.
The Jaredites called the land where they built their ships next to the sea Moriancumer (Ether
2:13). Tribes in the Near East have the tradition of naming mountains, wadis, and other
geographical features after people who are important to them. Lehi was no exception in his
naming the valley they camped in after his son Lemuel and the river that flowed by their tents
after another son, Laman. For this reason, I think it possible that the tribal name of the
Jaredites may have been “Moriancumer” after the great prophet. Note these facts: the two
mountain ranges just to the west of Khor Rori are called the Marrah mountains and the Qamar
mountains, the latter sometimes spelled Camar or Comar.177 These mountains run parallel to
the Indian Ocean and follow each other. It is common to see on maps of southern Arabia the
two names written side by side, the Marrah Camar mountains. Of course, Latin spellings of
Arabic words change over time, and it is also true that Arabic is a vocalized language where
vowels are not written. By removing the vowels we have Mrncmr (Moriancumer, the land
where the Jaredites built their ships) or Mrrcmr (Marrah Camar, the two mountain ranges
immediately to the west of the Salalah coastal plain.
The Jaredite Barges
Before the Jaredites left Sumer and its tower of Babel, they appear to have been shipbuilders
(Ether 2:16). What kind of ships did they build? The translation of the book of Ether uses the
words “vessels,” (Ether 2:22) and “barges” (Ether 2:16) to describe the Jaredite ships. What did
this mean to the Prophet Joseph Smith as he translated the golden plates? According to
Webster’s American Dictionary of English, First Edition 1828, we learn:
177
The name Camar, Qamar, or Comor are all Latin spellings for the Arabic word for moon. The argument would be
stronger if the term were of the language of the Jaredites and not the much later, Arabic language.
63
VESSEL 4. Any building used in navigation, which carries a mast and sails, from the largest ship
of war down to a fishing sloop.
BARGE, 3 “a ship.”
The implication is that the Jaredite barges were sailing ships and explains why the Book of
Mormon states that the Jaredite ships were blown by a furious wind (Ether 6:5). Even the Book
of Mormon phrase “before the wind” (Ether 6:5) is a common sailing term indicating that the
wind is blowing astern or from the back of the ship. Undoubtedly Joseph Smith knew little
about sailing, yet here is another example of the exactness of his translation.
Even though the Jaredites appear to have built other Mesopotamian barges before building the
ships that took them to the promised land. The Lord gave the brother of Jared specific
instructions on how to modify their ships rather than a completely new design for a vessel. In
other words, it appears that the Lord showed them how to make their ancient vessels
seaworthy enough to cross the great oceans (Ether 2:16). Thus, it is reasonable to think that the
design of Jaredite barges was not too different from what is known about ocean-going vessels
from that part of the world in the earliest centuries of civilization.
An analysis of the ancient Omani ships that sailed the seas of the Near East circa 2500 BC gives
a model of what the Jaredite ships may have looked like. Accordingly, we visited the Maritime
Hall at the Land of the Frankincense Museum in Salalah, Oman. On display is the latest scholarly
thought about these early seagoing ships. The display states:
This is hypothetical reconstruction of a trading vessel of the mid-3rd millennium

BC which was based on iconography and direct evidence discovered at Ras Al-
Jinz in eastern Oman. The vessel comprises reed bundles lashed together, with
reed matting “quilted” onto the reed-built hull. The vessel is then coated inside
and out with bitumen, and the outside smeared with mud. Some wooden
elements, such as beams, steering gear supports and quarter rudders, as well as
a bipod mast and year, also are featured in the construction.178
Reed Sailing Ships
These Mesopotamian ships were amazing for their day. The Mesopotamian ships had hulls that
were formed by using a light-weight composite of multiple layers of material. These unique
vessels seem to match well the description of the Jaredite ships provided in the Book of
Mormon. The text says the Lord commanded the Jaredites to construct ships that were “small,”
and “light upon the water, even like unto the lightness of a fowl upon the water” (Ether 2:16).
While reeds are a light-weight material, if the entire hull were of solid reeds the heavy ship
would rest deep in the water. Thus, ancient seagoing Omani ships used tight bundles to form
only the outer shell of the ship. The reed shell was then waterproofed by quilting a smooth
layer of reed matting on both the inner and outer sides of the reed bundles. Then, both the
178
The Museum of the Frankincense Land—The Maritime Hall (Muscat: Office of the Advisor to His Majesty the
Sultan of Cultural Affairs, 2007), 25.
64
inner and outer matting received a coating of bitumen (pitch or petroleum sealer). In this way,
the hollow hulls could hold within them the Jaredites and their provisions, and still float lightly
upon the water like a bird.
Tight Like a Dish
The Jaredite ships were airtight, completely sealed from

light and air (Ether 2:19). The bottom, sides, and the top of
their barges were “tight like a dish” (Ether 2:17). What does
this mean? Dishes in the Middle East in the third
millennium BC were simple earthen-ware pottery made
from clay and sand that was dried until it was hardened by
sunlight. When fully dried, the sand inside the clay sealed
the pot to make it waterproof. We read that Omani ships in
antiquity had a final layer of pottery clay (waterproofed
Figure 19 Ancient Near East barge model mud), applied to the outer side of the hull. In other
showing composite construction, front reed,
words, the ships were sealed tight and had the exact
next reed mats, then bitumen, and back by the
rudders a mud outer finish. outer appearance of an ancient pottery dish. The
appearance was even more like a dish once the Jaredites
covered the decks of their ships with an airtight layer of clay. The Book of Mormon even states
that the Jaredite ships were tight like unto the ark of Noah (Ether 6:7). Recall that the ancient
Omani vessels were further waterproofed by applying coats of bitumen to the inside and
outside layer of reeds. What other ancient ship do we know that was coated with bitumen? It
was Noah’s (Genesis 6:14).
How could Joseph Smith have known any of these facts about ancient shipbuilding? How could
he have known about the ancient harbor of Ophir (Khor Rori)? How could he have known about
the Empty Quarter of Arabia where no human has ever lived. And how could he have provided
more thorough details about the journeys of Jerah and his brother Ophir that only now can be
shown to be in complete harmony with a migration from Babel to southern Arabia and onward?
Learn more the Jaredites by watching our DVD, Into the Desert with George Potter or reading
my full-color book, Voyages of the Book of Mormon. Both are available through our site
www.nephiproject.com. The book Voyages of the Book of Mormon can be ordered at Cedar
Fort: http://www.cedarfort.com.
65
Figure 20 Courtesy of Matthew Potter
Sunrise at Machu Picchu
66
Notwithstanding our afflictions, we have
Obtained a land of promise, a land which
Is choice above all other lands… 2 Nephi 1:5
Chapter Five
South America Geography and the Book of Mormon
Joseph Smith Jr. reportedly taught that Nephi’s ship landed at 30o degrees south latitude in
Chile.179 At that latitude we find something that is rare along the rough-surf coast of South
America—a sheltered harbor at La Serena. Without calm waters, the Lehites' landing would
have been a shipwreck with probable losses of their seeds, their tents, the metal plates of
Laban, and their very lives.
A growing body of archaeological evidence states that there was a migration of people along
the shoreline of Chile in the period when Nephi’s ship arrived. Archaeologists have found that a
distinct change in human culture occurred along the Chilean coast during what is called the
“Formative” Period from 1000 BC to 500 AD.180 DNA research shows the existence of a genetic
shift during the Formative period along the northern Chilean coastal area, and during this same
period the native maritime societies started incorporating farming technologies.181 In this
regard, we know that the first labors Nephi describes his family performing when they arrived
in the land of Promise is farming (1 Nephi 18:23,24).
Eventually, Lehi’s family journeyed into the wilderness away from the sea. As they traveled,
they discovered a forest with many wild animals (1 Nephi 18:25). A Spanish chronicler describes
leaving Peru’s Ica shoreline valley, which has a similar geography to La Serena, and traveling up
from the barren shoreline and into the Andes: “In this valley there are great forests of
algorrobales and many fruit trees…deer, doves…and other game.” 182 The Lehites also
discovered on their journey “all manner of ore, both of gold, and of silver, and of copper” (1
179
Lehi…landed on the continent of South America in Chili *Chile+ thirty degrees south latitude,” This is a statement attributed
to Joseph Smith, Jr. by Apostle Franklin D. Richards and Apostle James A. Little, and accepted by Orson Pratt and printed in the
footnotes of the 1879 edition of the Book of Mormon, Encyclopedia of Mormonism, Vol. 1, “Book of Mormon Geography.”
180
Varela, Héctor Hugo, José Alberto Cocilovo, Calogero M. Santoro & Francisco Rothhammer, “Microevolution of
Human Archaic Groups of Arica, Northern Chile, and Its Genetic Contribution to Populations from the Formative
Period”, Revista Chilena De Historica Natural, v. 79 n.2, (Santiago: 2006), 185-193)
(http://www.scielo.cl/scielo.php?pid=S0716-078X2006000200005&Script=sci_arttext 10/17/2006, 2).
181
Héctor Hugo Varela, José Alberto Cocilovo, Calogero M. Santoro & Francisco Rothhammer, 9.
182
Cieza de Léon, quoted by Silverman, Helaine and Donald A. Proulx. The Nasca: The Peoples of America Series
(Oxford: Blackwell Publishing, 2002), 41.
67
Nephi 18:25). Since Nephi described finding ore, it is possible that as they journeyed in the
mountains they observed active mining operations.
Peru the New Ophir -- A land of gold in abundance
As noted in the previous chapter, the Jaredites and Nephites probably embarked in their ships
from the ancient harbor known today was Khor Rori. However, would it have been called in
Book of Mormon times the harbor of Ophir? (or Dhofar) Khor means “Inlet” or harbor. But
what does Rori mean? According to scholar Kim MacQuarrie, “anything made of gold, the Incas
[of Peru] called “qori” (in Aymara or “kori” in Quechua).183 Khor Rori must have meant “the
inlet of gold.” The LDS Bible Dictionary defines Ophir as “A country whence gold was brought,
probably a port in southern Arabia.” This leads one to wonder if Peru was the Nephites “New
Ophir” where they called anything golden Kori.
The Incas believed that the first people who arrived in their land called it Pirua (corrupted by
the Spanish into Peru). Early Spanish chroniclers were told by the native Indians that the name
Pirua was derived from the name “Ophir,”184 the same name as the famous Biblical sailor
(Genesis 10:29; 1 Kings 10:11,22) who appears to have been the brother of Jared.
Like the later European colonizers in the Americas, the Book of Mormon people followed the
custom of naming the lands to which they migrated after the places they had left behind, e.g.,
Bountiful (Alma 22:29), Midian (Alma 24:5), Ishmael (Alma 17:19), and Jerusalem (Alma 21:1-2).
Because the Peruvian natives believed they were descendants of Ophir,185 it would follow that
the Biblical character Ophir left the Old World harbor named after him, and sailed to Peru. Book
of Mormon scholar Janne M. Sjodahl cites, “Fernando Montesinos [an early Spanish
chronicler]… records the theory that Ophir, a ‘grandson of Noah’ settled ‘Hamerica,’ as he spells
the name, 340 years after the deluge, and that ‘Peru,’ the name, is derived from ‘Ophir.’186
Early Spanish chronicler Montesinos believed that God led Ophir to Peru, gave them
commandments, but that they became greedy and a war broke out over land and material
possession.”187 James Adair wrote: “But Vatablus reckons it was Hispaniola, discovered, and
named so by Columbus: yet Postellus, Phil. Mornay, Arias Montanus, and Goropius, are of the
opinion that Peru is the ancient Ophir.”188
The chronicler Bernadé Cobo conjectured that there were four reasons why many Spaniards
believed that in discovering Peru (Piru) they had located Biblical Ophir: “first, the authority of
183
MacQuarrie, Kim, The Last Days of the Incas, (London: Piakus, 2007), 94-95.
184
Sjodahl, Janne M. (1), Quoted on on-line LDS http://search.ldslibrary.com/article/view/976113, 8 January 2008.
185
Hilturnen, Juha J., Ancient Kings of Peru, The Reliability of the Chronicle of Fernando de Montesinos, (Helsinki:
Suomen Historiallinen Seura, 1999), 354.
186
Sjodahl (1).
187
Calderwood, David G., Voices from the Dust (Austin, TX: Historical Publications, Inc, 2005), 287.
188
Adair, James, 1775. Adair's History of the American Indians. 2d ed. Edited by Samuel Cole Williams. (New
York: Promontory Press, 1986), 229.
68
Admiral Christopher Columbus…*who believed+ he had discovered the land of Ophir; second,
the similarity and relationship between these two names Ophir and Peru.… “The third
conjecture that moves them to adopt this opinion is the abundance of gold, precious and
exquisite woods, and many apes, peacocks, and other unusual and very valuable things that
Solomon’s ships brought from Ophir….”
“The fourth and last reason is the long period of time that those ships *Solomon’s+ took on the
trip, which was three years…”189
In 1989 American explorer Gene Savoy, who is credited with discovering forty-three “lost cities”
in the Andes, declared that he found a King-Solomon-era icon for the land Ophir on three stone
tablets in Peru. According to an article posted on the website of the Neil A. Maxwell Institute
(FARMS) at BYU: “At the Grand Vilaya he [Gene Savoy] discovered carved stone stela inscribed
with what may prove to be the only known example of pre-Columbian linear writing found in
situ in South America.”190 It should also be remembered that Nephi knew the name Ophir, for it
was engraved on the golden plates by his brother (2 Nephi 23:12).
Archaeologists have uncovered extensive Peruvian metalwork dating back to the dawn of the
Jaredite Age. Sorenson summarizes it in these words:
Archaeologists only recently learned that metal was being worked in Peru as early
as 1900 BC, and it was being traded in Ecuador before 1000 BC [J. W. Grossman,
“An Ancient Gold Worker’s Tool Kit: The Earliest Metal Technology in Peru,”
Archaeology 25 (1972):270-75; A. C. Paulsen, “Prehistoric Trade between South
Coastal Ecuador and other Parts of the Andes” (Paper read at 1972 Annual
Meeting, Society for American Archaeology).”191
A Neal A. Maxwell Institute (F.A.R.M.S) online paper states: “Complex and sophisticated
metallurgical technologies in the pre-Columbian New World, however, are presently recognized
only in the Andes Mountains of Peru and Chile, where copper was smelted from rare copper
arsenides, sulfates, and chlorides.”192 Metal, in particular gold, silver and copper are mentioned
throughout the Book of Mormon. Jacob wrote that the land of promise abounds in precious
metals (Jacob 2:12). One of the earliest Spanish chronicles of the Incas was written in the
189
Cobo, Bernadé, History of the Inca Empire, translated by Roland Hamilton, (Austin: University of Texas, 2004),
65-66.
190
Maxwell Institute, “Insights: An Ancient Window,” The Newsletter of the Foundation for Ancient Research and
Mormon Studies, 1990, No. 3, (Provo, Utah: Brigham Young University, 1990), 3. “Savoy’s discoveries seem to open
new areas of potential research, according to Dr. Ray Matheny, his host in Provo. While much remains to be done
to verify his findings and determine their significance, he deserves credit for efforts in a geographic area that
others shun because of the physical difficulty of doing research there.”
191
Sorenson, John (3), An Ancient American Setting for the Book of Mormon, p. 279-280, Cited by Jeff Lindsay at
http://www.jefflindsay.com/LDSFAQ/FQ_metals.shtml#ores
192
FARMS (now Neal A Maxwell Institute), “Copper, Bronze, and Brass” (Provo, UT: Brigham Young University,
2000), 1.
69
1550’s by Juan de Betanzos. According to his interviews with the surviving Inca nobles, the Incas
needed to keep records because “some said they had livestock, others, great fields of maize,
others, gold mines, others, silver mines, others, much wood.”193
The rich ore deposits of the Andes are legendary. They include the great silver mines of Potosi,
Bolivia, the vast copper deposits of northern Chile and southern Peru, and the gold mines of the
Incas. After conquering Peru, Pizarro’s brother Hernando returned to Spain to deliver the
crown’s share of the initial loot (1/5 only): “carrying so much silver and gold that the ships
were ballasted with these metals… He entered Seville with all the treasures. This news excited
all Spain because it rang throughout that the House of Trade was filled with golden vessels and
jars and other praiseworthy pieces, and of great weight. There was talk of nothing but Peru,
and many were stirring to go there.”194 Despite the great quantities of gold and silver stolen by
the Spanish, large collections of Inca and pre-Inca metal works still exist in Peru. For example,
the private collection of Miguel Mujica Gallo in Lima holds 10,000 pre-Columbian gold, silver, or
copper artifacts.
The Lord promised Nephi that he would rule a “land which is choice above all other lands” (1
Nephi 2:20). In terms of precious metals, this definition of choice certainly applies to the Andes.
Cobo wrote of the Peruvians’ mines:
Some of these mitas (labor services performed by taxpayers) provided the labor
for the mines of gold, silver, and other metals; the mines that the mitayos
(laborers in service of the mitas) worked for the Inca were numerous and very
rich, such as those of Porco [south of Potosi], from which they extracted such
rich metals that they contained 50 percent silver, but the most famous were the
ones at Tarapacá, in the Diocese of Arequipa. These mines were located in some
dry sandbanks where no water is found within twelve leagues of the area and
were so rich that the majority of the metal that was extracted from them was
white, refined silver without a mixture of scoria. Lodes were not found in these
mines, but rather pockets or isolated nuggets of pure silver that the Indians call
papas (potatoes); some of them weighed from one-half to one and two arrobas,
and a nugget has been found that weighed four arrobas (an arroba weighs
approximately twenty-five pounds).
There is information about a lode that the Indians have covered up, and they say
that it belonged to the Sun, that it was two feet wide and all of pure silver. 195
193
Betanzos, Juan de, Narrative of the Incas, translated and edited by Roland Hamilton and Dana Buchanan from
the Palma de Mallorca manuscript, (Austin: University of Texas Press, 1996), 90.
194
Cieza de León, Pedro (2), The Discovery and Conquest of Peru, Chronciles of the New World Encounter, edited
and translated by Alexander Parma Cook & Noble David Cook, (London: Duke University, 1998), 360.
195
Cobo, 231-232.
70
Climate Suitable for Growing Seeds from Jerusalem
Arthur Kocherhans served a mission in Central America. Later in life, he spent forty years trying
to identify key Book of Mormon sites, and concluded that Nephi’s ship landed at what today is
La Serena, Chile,. 196 Kocherhans reasoned that the only climate south of California/Baja
California that could sustain seeds from Jerusalem was the shoreline of Peru and the northern
shoreline of Chile.197 Furthermore, La Serena is located along the most arid shoreline in the
world, yet, like a miracle, a river flows out of the Andes and empties into the Pacific in La
Serena bay, allowing agriculture to thrive along its course. As noted before, a significant cultural
shift took place in Chile during this era, including the introduction of farming.
The Nephites brought seeds with them to the land of

promise, planted them at their shoreline camp, and reaped
an exceedingly good harvest (1 Nephi 18:24). This would
have required climatic conditions similar to the
Mediterranean climate of the land of Jerusalem. Book of
Mormon explorer Kocherhans has traveled extensively in
the Americas and has studied regional climate conditions
throughout the Americas. He concludes, “From the climate
maps it will be observed that the west side of Central
America falls in a Monsoon region, and the east coast is
recognized as a rainy tropical region. Therefore, seeds from
the land of Jerusalem, which is a Mediterranean subtropical
region, would not grow “exceedingly” on either coast of
Central America. It appears that we would do well not to
ignore these basic facts of agriculture.” The only two zones
in the Americas with a climate similar to Palestine are the coastal regions of southern/Baja
California and Peru/Chile. In supporting Kocherhans’ conclusion, it should be remembered that
the Nephites cultivated vineyards and used the grapes for making wine. The premier climates
for growing wine grapes in the Americas are found in California, Peru, Chile, and Argentina
High Mountains
It should be remembered that Hugh Nibley taught that the word “wilderness” “…has in the
Book of Mormon the same connotation as in the Bible, and usually refers to desert country.”
He also taught that the word “border” or “borders” usually referred to “mountains.” Arthur
Kocherhans believes that placing the descendants of Lehi in the Andes mountains is a direct
fulfillment of the blessing that Joseph of Egypt received from Israel. Lehi was a descendant of
Joseph who was promised that his seed would be “progenitors unto the utmost bound of the
everlasting hills” (Genesis 49:26). Not only do the great South American Andes fit the
196
Kocherhans, Arthur J.,. (Fullerton, CA: Et Cetera, 1989), 80.
197
Kocherhans, Lehi’s Isle of Promise, 117.
71
description of “everlasting hills,” it places the Nephites and Lamanites in the range’s highest
inhabitable valleys, (up to 13,000 feet above sea level) making it indicative of the mountains’
“utmost bounds.”
Without knowing the probable meaning of the words ‘“wilderness’” and ‘“borders’” in the Book
of Mormon, it would appear that there are few descriptions of the terrain in the land of the
Nephites. However, the opposite is likely the case. The word “wilderness” (desert) is used 214
times in the Book of Mormon (often used in proximity to the seashore), and the word “borders”
(mountains) is used 65 times, suggesting that much of the Book of Mormon lands were deserts
by the sea or mountains. These features provide a perfect description of Peru’s desert shoreline
and towering mountain ranges. Alan Kolata of the University of Chicago provides a concise
description of the almost magical geography of the Inca domain, the primary area of our study:
Structurally, the Andean natural environment can be divided into five principal
physiographic regions: the desert plains of the Pacific coast; the mountainous
highlands, or sierra basins; the high plateau, or Altiplano of southern Peru and
Bolivia; the humid, eastern slopes of the Andes, or montaña; and the true
tropical rainforest of the Amazon basin. Proceeding east to west from the
Amazon basin across the mountainous highlands down to the Pacific coast,
climate, precipitation, and vegetation patterns change dramatically, with a
general trend toward increasing aridity until one reaches the strip of coastal
desert that forms the western edge of the continent from northern Peru to
central Chile. The Pacific coastal deserts of Peru and Chile are among the most
forbidding tracts of land on earth. The only relief from the monotonous gray-
brown desert landscape is offered by a series of coastal rivers cascading down
the western slopes of the Andes. These rivers, naturally enough, have become
oases for coastal peoples over the millennia, yielding a series of fertile bands in
an otherwise sterile and hostile environment.198
In the central Andes, this more heavily watered transitional steppe gives way to
multiple intermontane basins hemmed in by the two great mountain chains that
form the Andes. The Cordillera Occidental (western) and the Cordillera Oriental
(eastern). These high mountain valleys were heavily populated in the prehispanic
past and became the core territory for the Inca empire. The indigenous
populations of the intermontane basins farmed the rich alluvial soils of the valley
floors and extended the spatial reach of food cultivation by constructing contour
terraces, frequently connected with irrigation canals which drew water from
mountain springs at higher elevations.
Immediately south of Cuzco, the two imposing mountain chains diverge

significantly. Interposed between them in an anciently uplifted high plateau, is
198
Kolata, Alan L. (1), The Tiwanaku (Tiahuanacu), Portrait of an Andean Civilization, (Cambridge, Mass.: Blackwell
Publishing, 1993), 40-41.
72
the great Andean Altiplano, which lies between 3,000 and 4,000 meters (10,000
to 13,000 feet above sea level).
The Altiplano proper, defined by the relatively flat depression between the two
towering cordilleras, runs for over 800 kilometers (500 miles) from north to
south, from southernmost Peru to northwestern Argentina, and ranges between
120 and 160 kilometers (75 to 100 miles) from west to east. This enormous
plateau, incorporating thousands of square kilometers, comprises the largest
area of interior drainage in highland South America. The geologic processes of
tectonic uplifting and orogenesis that created this vast, enclosed drainage basin
also generated extensive fresh water lakes. The Altiplano and the lakes were
formed in the Miocene with the rise of the Andes, and attained their present
form in the Pleistocene. Since their formation, the lakes of the Altiplano have
been disappearing through evaporative loss. Today only Lake Titicaca on the
northern end of the high plateau and Lake Poopó to the southeast remain
significant bodies of water.199
Immediately to the east of the Andean Altiplano, crossing the great eastern
mountain range, which in Bolivia carries the name Cordillera Real, we move
quickly into a world entirely different from the bleak, forbidding plateaus of
tenuous subsistence agriculture and llama herding. Wild rivers originating in the
ancient glaciers of the cordillera cut and gouge the hard rock of the mountains in
spectacular displays of headward erosion. Waterfalls cascade violently for
hundreds of meters down the vertiginous eastern slopes of the Andes, which
become increasingly humid and forested as one descends through roiling banks
of damp fog from the high mountain passes. Gnarled evergreens, shrubs,
dripping with parasitic wild orchids, cling tenaciously to the fractured black shale
and basalt-clad mountainsides. Enclaves of nearly flat land with deep, rich soils
are encrusted in the tortuous, almost chaotic jumble of rock formations that
form the eastern edge of the Andean chain. These are the opulent hot lands of
the montaña, or yungas as the Aymara call them.200
Beyond the yungas is the vast tropical rainforest of the immense Amazon basin. Peru’s
landscape, especially that of the high Andes and its Altiplano, is spectacular. It borders on the
surreal. As a missionary, I stood on the level floor of the Altiplano trying to comprehend that I
was actually breathing air at 12,500 feet above sea level. The crystal blue lake waters of Lake
Titicaca stretched out before me for some 138 miles. On all sides, the basin was surrounded by
snow-capped mountains, some reaching to over 21,000 feet. The Altiplano is the American
Tibet, but perhaps it is even more amazing than its Asian counterpart. A hundred miles west of
where I was standing is the earth’s driest desert, and only a hundred miles in the opposite
direction is the greatest watershed on earth, the Amazon jungle. For those fortunate enough to
199
Kolata (1), 43.
200
Kolata (1), 47-48.
73
have served missions in Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Chile, and Argentina, the images they remember
of the Andes will never leave them.
The Nephite world had four seas
By the first century BC, the Nephites spread across the “whole earth from the sea south to the
sea north, from the sea west to the sea east” (Helaman 3:8). The Quechua word cocha (or
qucha) means both “sea” and “large lake.”201 The same is true in the Hebrew language, e.g., the
fresh water lake known as the Sea of Galilee. Thus, Lake Titicaca was known to the Incas as Sea
Titicaca. They also called the Pacific Ocean a “cocha.”
The Peruvians were an amazing seafaring people. The Pacific Ocean to their west is obviously
the west sea. The sea of the east was the sacred sea of the Incas, the 138-mile-long fresh water
Lake (Sea) Titicaca. Of special note is that the Book of Mormon’s east sea (Cocha Titicaca) was
referred to as a sea that divided two groups of people in Book of Mormon times, the Nephites
(a Quechua speaking people on the north shores) and the Lamanites (an Aymara speaking
people on the south) (Alma 22:27).
Another interesting feature about Lake

Titicaca is that its only outlet is a river that
empties into a salty lake, Lake Poopo’, my
candidate for the Book of Mormon sea on the
south. Here then is a Book of Mormon typing
for the same geographic character of the sea
of Galilee (a fresh water lake) and the Dead
Sea (a saltine sea), as well as, the fresh waters
of Utah Lake flowing through the Jordan River
into the Great Salt Lake in Utah. The salt flats
that neighbor Lake Poopo’ are the largest in
the world, some 100 times larger than the
Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah. When full, Lake Poopo’ covers an area of 997 square miles.
But where is the Book of Mormon’s sea on the north? Thanks to

the research of David William Pereira, we know the lake which
still goes by its original Book of Mormon place-name, the
“North Sea” or “Chinchayqucha” in Quechua. After Lake
Titicaca, Lake Junín is Peru’s second largest lake. This lake or sea Figure 21 Lake Junin - Sea on the north.
is also located in the northern part of Peru. The lake was an
important resource for the ancient inhabitants of the Andes and has an area of 226 square
miles. Brother Pereira sent me this amazing quote from Wikipedia:
“Lake Junin[1] (who-neen; IPA: *xuˈnin+) (Spanish Lago Junín, named after the nearby town
of Junin)[2] or Chinchayqucha (Quechua chincha, chinchay north, northern, chinchay ocelot,
201
Betanzos, 309.
74
qucha lake, lagoon,[3][4] "northern lake" or "ocelot lake", hispanicized spelling Chinchaycocha) is
the largest lake entirely within Peruvian territory.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Junin
The Four Quarters of the Nephite Lands
No civilization ever called itself “The Inca Empire.” When the Spaniards arrived in Peru, they
found a people who called themselves “Incas” and who lived in a kingdom they called
Tahuantinsuyu, meaning “the four united quarters.” In the same way, the Book of Mormon
people divided their land into four quarters (Alma 43:26; 51:10; 56:1; 58:30; 58:35; Ether
14:15).
At the heart of the land of Tahuantinsuyu was its central temple in the capital of Cuzco. In a
similar fashion as Salt Lake City, all locations in Tahuantinsuyu were based on their direction
and distance to the main temple at Cuzco. The division of the Inca land into quarters was not
made by the “later” Incas, but by their earliest ancestors. From its mythical beginnings their
kingdom had been divided into four quarters: Chinchaysuyu,
Antisuyu, Collasuyu and Contisuyu.
Anthropologist Brian Bauer describes the geography of

Tahuantinsuyu:
Both of the Cuzco moieties were, in turn, further

divided in half. These four quarters, or suyus
Figure 22 Four Quarters of Inca lands
(divisions), radiated from the Coricancha {Cuzco
main temple} as the center of Inca world…. The
indigenous name for the Inca Empire, Tahuantinsuyu
(the four parts together), was derived from the four
great spatial divisions that together, was derived from
the four great spatial divisions that together made up
the realm. The Hanansaya quarters {upper or the land
northward}, consisting of the regions of the northwest,
and northeast of Cuzco, were called Chinchaysuyu and
Antisuyu respectively. The Hurinsaya division included
the two southern quarters {lower or land southward}:
Collasuyu to the southeast and Contisuyu to the
southwest. The Inca Empire was seen as the sum of these four parts, and for the
Inca, the Coricancha {main temple} marked its centers.202
Likewise, the Nephites divided their land along an east-to-west axis. The book of Alma provides
a description of the land ruled over by the chief Lamanite king. His lands were bordered by a
narrow strip of wilderness, “…which ran from the sea east even to the sea west” (Alma 22:27).
We learn later that there was another line that separated Bountiful (land southward) and the
202
Bauer, Brian, Ancient Cuzco, Heartland of the Inca, (Austin: University of Texas Press, 2004), 154.
75
land Desolation (the land northward) (Alma 22:31,32). If the Nephites divided their land at its
founding, then Nephi undoubtedly oversaw the subdivision. Urton notes of the Peruvian
legends:
One myth that does account for the division of the Inca world into four quarters
at the beginning of time is provided by Garcilaso de la Vega in his work,
Commentarios Reales de los Incas. Garcilaso says that after the waters of the
deluge receded, a man (unnamed in this myth {Nephi}) appeared at Tiahuanaco
[city at Lake Titicaca]. This man was so powerful that he divided the land into
four parts, giving each quarter to one of four kings. Manco Capac {my candidate
for Nephi} received the northern quarter, Colla the southern {Laman?}, Tocay the
eastern {Lemuel}, and Pinahua the western {Sam}.203
The Land Northward (Inca Northwest Quarter of Chinchaysuyu)
As will be documented later, the only area in all the Western Hemisphere that had large cities,
metal working, and the religion of a white god in the time period of the early Jaredites was the
civilization located along the Pacific shoreline one hundred and twenty miles north of present-
day Lima. The ruins of its ancient cities are found in the area called Norte Chico. In the book of
Omni we learn that the land of the Jaredites was in the area the Nephites knew as the “land
northward” (Omni 1:22). It seems somewhat ironic that the name of this area today still
incorporates the term Norte (North). Being on the shoreline, and in the northern half of the
Inca world, it is safe to match the Book of Mormon “Land Northward” to the Inca quarter called
Chinchaysuyu that started at ruins of Pachamaca, some twenty-five miles south of Lima and
continued north along the coast to Ecuador.
Land of Desolation
Is there a place in the ancient Americas known as the land of Desolation? The answer is yes.
The southern end of the Book of Mormon “land northward” was called “the land of
Desolation,” (Alma 22:31) not because of a lack of vegetation, but because when the Mulekites
landed there, they found it was full of the bones of dead Jaredites. “It being so far northward
that it came into the land which had been peopled and been destroyed” (Alma 22:30). The Land
of Desolation was on the western seashore, being the place where the Mulekites landed (Alma
22:30) and near the place from which Hagoth set sail for Polynesia (Alma 63:5). Furthermore,
Desolation bordered with the land Bountiful to its south (Alma 22:30). Remarkably there is yet
another ancient Book of Mormon place-name that can be identified today. The Incas called the
land from the shoreline just north of Lima (Rimac Valley) to the ruins of Pachamaca on the
south of Lima “the land of the people of Desolation.”204 The Inca land of Desolation has the
203
Urton, Gary. The Legendary Past, Inca Myths, (Austin: University of Texas Press, 1999)39-40.
204
Sullivan, William, The Secret of the Incas, Myth, Astronomy, and the War Against Time, (New York: Three Rivers
Press, 1995), 226.
76
exact same features as those described in the Book of Mormon: a seashore (Ether 14:12), plains
by the seashore (Ether 14:13-15), a wilderness (probably meant desert) (Ether 14:4), inhabited
valleys leading east into mountains that were near the sea (Borders, see Ether 13:29, 14:26).
Narrow Neck of Land
Along the border that separated the Book of Mormon land northward from the land southward
and the land of Bountiful was a feature referred to as a “small neck of land.” This geographical
facet is one of the most misunderstood features of Book of Mormon geography. As a result,
students of the Book of Mormon have commonly searched for an isthmus that separated the
northern and southern lands of the Nephites and Lamanites. The problem is, as we shall see,
there is no such isthmus mentioned in the Book of Mormon. While the Book of Mormon lands
contained a “narrow wilderness” between two seas, this was not the feature labeled “the
narrow neck of land.”
So where in Peru is the Book of Mormon’s narrow neck of land? We can begin our search by
determining a starting point. Alma 22:32 tells that the narrow neck of land was near the Land of
Desolation.
The Inca land of Desolation included a very important feature, a narrow passage that led from
the Inca’s northeast quarter to its capital at Cuzco and on to the two Inca southern quarters.
The main Inca highway ran through a mountain passage. Sullivan writes:
This area lies on the western, seaward slopes of the Andean cordillera. Access to
this entire region—draining the Cañete, Mala, Lurin, and Rimac rivers, each
flowing west to the Pacific—came through a single high pass. In both Inca and
Spanish colonial times, the main route from the southern and south central
Andes to the central Pacific coast lay through the pass, where the Inca carved
steps into living rock on the flanks of a towering volcanic mountain called
Pariacaca.205 (bold added)
It is important to remember that the route between the Nephite main cities to the lands
northward and Desolation had to go through a narrow (mountain) pass (Alma 50:30) which we
know led to the sea (the Pacific through an east-to-west passage). This passage is one of the
keys for finding the location of the narrow neck of land.
As with all the Book of Mormon sites, we have very limited information available to identify the
narrow neck of land. Readers of the Book of Mormon usually assume that the “narrow neck of
land” defines a geographical feature, but a closer examination of its context in the Book of
Mormon shows that it was an important military fortification that must be defended to stop a
Lamanite invasion. John Sorenson notes of the narrow neck of land: “Mormon was speaking of
205
Sullivan, 223.
77
a fortified line of defense.”206 The most commonly cited clues to its nature are found in the
book of Alma.
And now, it was only the distance of a day and a half’s journey for a Nephite, on the
line Bountiful and the land Desolation, from the east to the west sea; and thus the
land of Nephi and the land of Zarahemla were nearly surrounded by water, there
being a small neck of land between the land northward and the land southward.
And it came to pass that the Nephites had inhabited the land of Bountiful, even from
the east [Andes mountains] to the west sea, and thus the Nephites in their wisdom,
with their guards and their armies, had hemmed in the Lamanites on the south,
that thereby they should have no more possession on the north, that they might not
overrun the land northward. (Alma 22:32,33, bold added)
As important as what is written in this verse is what is not mentioned. The verse does not say
the “small neck…ran from the east sea even to the west sea,” nor does it state that it ran
between the east to the west seas (plural). Rather the small neck of land ran from the east to
the west sea. Clearly, the phrase is only referring to only one sea, the Pacific and a place called
“the east.” A similar phrase would be “the Union Pacific railroad ran from the “east” to the
Pacific Ocean.
Two reasons can be cited for believing that there was no sea on the east side of the small neck
of land. First, a Nephite could cross the “line” on the small neck of land in one and one-half
days. There is nowhere in the Western Hemisphere where one can start at the Pacific Ocean
and walk to another large and completely separate body of water in one and a half days. For
example, the first westerners to cross the Isthmus of Panama were Vasco Nuñez de Balboa and
his men in 1513. Even with the help of Indian guides, it took them 23 days to cross the
torturous jungle of Panama. The tropical jungle of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec is 137 miles
across at its narrowest point, a distance of over four times the width of Panama. Neither of
these geographic features could have been the narrow neck of land. (-- See end notes for
explanation207).
206
No author stated, “Travel across the ‘Narrow Neck of Land,’ (Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, BYU, 2000) 10 June
2008, 1, http://maxwellinstitute.byu.edu/display-print.php?table=insights&id=132.
207
General Authorities of the LDS Church have told the Hawaiians that they are descendants of Hagoth. The Narrow neck of
land was where Hagoth built his ships, (seafaring culture) was south of Hawaiian Islands (Hagoth sailed north). Hagoth’s sailing
from Peru was possibly replicated by the Inca Tupa Inca Yupanqui who sailed to the islands he called Hahua Chumpi and Nina
Chumpi. Calderwood cites: “Manuel Ballasteros Gambrios,…wrote that in Quechua Chumpi means a belt or ring and Nina
means fire. Ballasteros suggests that Tupa Inca Yupanqui may have discovered some islands surrounded by fire or where there
was an active volcano. This similarity in the sounds between Hahua or Hawa and Hawaii cannot be overlooked nor considered
mere coincidence…” (Calderwood, 372.). A boots-on-the-ground look will provide another perspective. Panama is nearly
impossible to cross. So impassible is the Isthmus of Panama that the 29,800-mile-long Pan-American Highway from Circle Alaska
to Puerto Montt has never been completed. There remains the 54-mile gap in the highway due to the Darién Jungle along the
Panama-Columbia border. To this day, the Darién remains an untamed rainforest full of quicksand, swamps, and insects.
Another evidence that the Panama Isthmus was impassible in one day is the fact that it remains isolated while lying between
large civilizations to its north and south. On the one hand, the lack of DNA diversity among the Ngöbé native Indians of Panama
78
Second, what was being traversed in a day and a half was not a crossing between two bodies of
water, but a “line” between two lands: “yea, to the line which was between the land Bountiful
and the land Desolation” (3 Nephi 3:23) and “it was only the distance of a day and a half’s
journey for a Nephite, on the line Bountiful and the land Desolation” (Alma 22:32).
Furthermore, the Book of Mormon tells us that the Nephites fortified this line (3 Nephi
3:23,25). It would appear then that the “line” was a fortified border line, a road, or a defensive
line that must have had a length of no more than 40-50 miles. One definition Webster’s
Dictionary provides for a “line” is “6 b – disposition made to cover extended military positions
and presenting a front to the enemy.”208 The Noah Webster’s original 1828 American Dictionary
of the English Language defines a line as “a trench or rampart; an extended work in
fortification.”209 Again, it is important to remember that whenever the small neck of land is
mentioned in the Book of Mormon, it is specifically in reference to military defenses needed to
protect the land northward from the Lamanites in the south.
This might be a new notion to readers of the Book of Mormon; however, two decades prior to
my analysis, F. Richard Hauck (M.A. degree in Anthropology from Brigham Young University and
a Ph.D. in anthropology from the University of Utah), formulated the same conclusion in his
book, Deciphering the Geography of the Book of Mormon. Hauck writes:
One of the traditional assumptions of Book of Mormon scholars and casual readers
alike has been to equate the “narrow neck of land” with an isthmus. Because this
assumption has been widely accepted without careful examination, it has
complicated and confused the numerous attempts made to identify the setting of
the book, for the identification of the proper isthmus is frequently the primary
focus of attempts made to identify the Book of Mormon geography. Careful
analyses of all the references in the text to this topographic feature fails to identify
the presence of two seas flanking the transportation corridor. The west sea is
clearly evident in the descriptions given in the text, but the east sea is never
specifically mentioned as being associated with the narrow corridor. Since two
bodies of water flanking a narrow strip of land create an isthmus, the “narrow
neck of land” as described in the Book of Mormon does not qualify as an isthmus.
The description of a transportation corridor narrowly constricted on the west flank
indicates that they had little contact with outside groups, and their DNA shows that the Ngöbé did not intermarry with other
people for thousands of years. On the other hand, there is possible evidence that Hagoth and his people sailed from South
America. Genetic research by Dr. Rebecca Cann of the University of Hawaii indicates that there exist DNA links between four
tribes in South America and the Polynesians in Samoa (see “New Light”, Maxwell Institute, (Provo, Utah: 2000) p. n/a,
http://farms.byu.edu/display.php?id=217&table-jbms). To date, no DNA links have been found between Polynesian nations and
207
the indigenous people in Mesoamerica.
208
Merriam Webster’s, 694.
209
Noah Webster, American Dictionary of the English Language, original edition 1828, (Chesapeake, Virginia,
American Christian Education, 2006). See “Line”, 11.
79
by the sea and on the east flank by a possible mountain barrier does, however,
qualify as a land bridge.210
The question remains. “What was on the ‘east’ of the line?” An understanding of the native
language of Peru, Quechua, makes it quite clear. East in Quechua is “anti.”211 The Native
Peruvians called the mountains the Antis, which the Spanish corrupted as Andes.212 Indeed, the
Andes were called the “east” because the giant mountains separated the coastal civilizations
from the inland civilization on the east side of the mountains, including the eastern quarter of
the Inca world, called Antisuyu (East Quarter).
An amazing witness to the accuracy of Joseph Smith’s translation of the plates is that “anti” in
the Book of Mormon also means “east” and definitely refers to mountains. Examples include,
Antionum was “east of the land of Zarahemla” (Alma 31:3); Manti (M-anti) was on the east side
of the river Sidon (Alma 16:7); and the Anti-Nephi-Lehi people given “land of Jershon which is
on the east” (Alma 27:22, implying that the name Anti-Nephi-Lehi, meant the people who lived
east of the lands of Nephi and Lehi). Likewise according to MacQuarrie the Incas called the
people who lived to their east the “Antis.”
Janne Sjodahl confirms that Book of Mormon place-names with the prefix “Anti” refers to
mountains:
In the Book of Mormon, anti means a mountain, or a hill. When it is used to denote a
country it probably means a hilly, or mountain country, and when the name is
applied to a city it may indicate location in a mountain region. In the same way the
Anti-Nephi-Lehi may have been located in a hill country. 213
Anti appears in Antisuyu, the name given by the Peruvians to the eastern part of
their vast domain; that is, to the part that was traversed by the loftiest ridges of the
Andes mountains. That proves, beyond questions, that the Peruvians used the word
exactly as we find it used in the Book of Mormon.
ANTIPAS was the name of a mount or hill on the summit of which Lamanite armies
on one occasion had gathered themselves for battle (Alma 47:7). This is a genuine
Indian word. On the mountain slope of the Cordillera, in the upper Amazon basin,
there is, according to Dr. Brinton, a tribe of Indians, of the Jivaro linguistic stock,
known as the Antipas. They are described as ‘rather tall, of light color, with thin lips,
aquiline noses, straight eyes, prognatic jaws, hair black or with reddish tinge’.214
210
Hauck, F. Richard, Deciphering the Geography of the Book of Mormon, (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Company,
1988), 12.
211
The Oxford Quechua Dictionary, see “anti” meaning east.
212
MacQuarrie, The Last Days of the Incas, 95.
213
Sjodahl, Janne, M., An Introduction to the Study of the Book of Mormon,
http://search.ldslibrary.com/article/view/976113, 118-119.
214
Ibid.
80
The Book of Mormon place-name “Manti” provides a very interesting line of thinking that
seems to support Sjodahl’s argument. We can start by breaking down the word into “M-anti,”
remembering that anti means mountains, and there was actually a hill of Manti (Alma 1:15).
Since Manti meant hills or mountains, this would confirm the fact that “borders” meant
“mountains” in the Book of Mormon, for we read of the Nephites defeating the Lamanites near
the “borders of Manti” (Alma 27-54). Other verses use “borders” ,mountains- to describe
“Manti” (Alma 16:6-7, Alma 43:32).
So what was on the “east” of the narrow neck of land? It was the “Antis” or Andes mountains.
Thus, the narrow neck of land was most likely a highly secured mountain passage that ran from
the Pacific to the Andes. It was a strategic gateway between the northward and southward
lands. We learn in Chapter 52 of the book of Alma that the narrow entry or neck leading from
the land of Bountiful into the land northward was a “pass,” i.e., presumably a narrow mountain
pass through the Andes. The narrow pass or neck is described in the Book of Mormon as a
“point” (Alma 52:9). Webster’s defines a “point” as “4. a (2): a geometric element determined
by an ordered set of coordinates; b (1): a narrowly localized place having a precisely indicated
position; (2): a particular place.”215 A strategic road through a narrow a mountain pass between
two geopolitical lands would form a strategic military point, which was so vital that this single
point would allow the Lamanites to attack the Nephites from every side (Alma 52:9). Webster’s
1828 American Dictionary includes these definitions of a “point”: “a small space; as a small
point of land,” “the place in which anything is directed.”216 Both these definitions could apply to
a narrow passage through the mountains, and is descriptive of the Inca highway that went from
the land of desolation to their southern quarters.
Hauck’s notes of the “narrow neck of land”:
Throughout Nephite history, this strategic west

sea land bridge was critical to their defense of the
land northward. Nephite protection of the
entrance into this corridor began as early as the
first century BC based on the information given in
Alma 22:32-34. The Nephi defensive strategies
repeatedly included the defense of the entrance
into this corridor. It was defended from
fortifications at Judea and in the land of Bountiful
between 67 and 65 BC, and again from 35 to 31
BC. This corridor became the Nephite place of
refuge during a war with the Gadianton robbers
between AD 17 and 22. Last of all, it was a
pertinent defensive asset to the Nephites in their
final war, for it helped them block Lamanite
215
Merriam Webster’s, 908.
216
Webster’s 1828, see “Point”.
81
access to their resources and population in the land northward during 48 years of
bloody warfare.217
So what information do we have that can help us identify a candidate for the “small and narrow
fortified transportation corridor from the Pacific to the Andes?
 It was a track of land that

separated the land of Desolation on the
north and the land of Bountiful on the
south.
 The small neck was not an
isthmus or passage between water; it
was a “pass,” which suggests a mountain
passage (Alma 52:9).
 It started in the “east” and ended
at the “west sea.”
 From the “east” to the “west sea”
took a Nephite one and one-half days to cross.
 It included a “line,” which in antiquity probably meant a defensive wall. We know that
the narrow pass had great military significance, for if the “pass” fell, the Lamanites could
possess the land northward. General Moroni ordered Teancum to “secure the narrow
pass” (Alma 51:30-32, 52:9). In a later attack by the Lamanites the same strategic place
is simply called “the line which was between the land Bountiful and the land Desolation”
(3 Nephi 3:23).
 It was a narrow track of land that included a “point” of military significance.
 The Jaredites built a “great city by the narrow neck of land” (Ether 10:20).
In pre-Columbian America was there in Peru a narrow and strategic transportation corridor that
starts at the Pacific and ends in the mountains; and did it possess the above characteristics at
the time of the Jaredites and Nephites? The answer is yes; and it is not hard to identify. It is
right where we would expect it—the Lurin Valley, which is located exactly between the Incas’
land of the people of Desolation and their southeast quarter of Contisuyu (Book of Mormon
land southward (Bountiful). Here are the reasons why the Lurin Valley qualifies as a candidate
for the Book of Mormon’s narrow neck or passage of land:
1. The border between the Incas northwest and southwest quarters was located
roughly at the Lurin Valley.
2. As noted above, Sullivan informs us that the area the Incas called the land of the
people of desolation had a “…single high pass. In both Inca and Spanish colonial
times, the main road from the southern {land Bountiful} and south central Andes
{City of Nephi and Zarahemla} to the central Pacific coast {Desolation and the
217
Hauck, 12-13.
82
land Northward} lay through the pass where the Incas carved steps into living
rock.”218 The pass is found in the Andes at the eastern end of the narrow Lurin
Valley that runs from the mountains down to the shoreline. The Lurin Valley was
extremely important for military reasons. Not only did the passage to Cuzco run
through it, but it was also the junction with the Inca’s shoreline highway from
the south. The Inca coastal road was along a sixty-mile narrow passage that led
from what appears to be the land Bountiful north along the sea. This shoreline
passage does not widen until it reaches the Lurin Valley. Losing control of the
Lurin valley would have meant that the Lamanites could attack the land
northward from both the southeast, through the Lurin Valley--the land
southward, and through the shoreline highway from the south--and of Bountiful.
3. The narrow neck ran from the “east” to the ocean. The term “east” might seem
vague to the reader, but to an Inca it had a very specific geopolitical meaning,
the Antis or Andes Mountains. In Inca terminology, the narrow neck of land
would have run from the mountains to the Pacific Ocean.
4. The distance from the Pacific Ocean up the Lurin Valley to the Andes Mountains
is approximately 45 miles; a distance a Nephite could have walked in a day and a
half along the smooth and level path of its Inca highway.
5. The Inca highway that ran from the
city of Pacachamac to the Andes appears to have
been fortified. The Spanish chronicler Cieza
“describes this section of the highway as being
some fifteen feet wide, protected by a strong wall
roughly the height of a man.”219 A wall the height
of a man! The wall that ran the entire length of
the Lurin Valley from the shoreline to the Andes
was, undoubtedly, a line of defense to halt
invading armies from the south. What words
would a writer in antiquity use to describe a
narrow highway with tall walls on both sides, that
ran for several miles? Would the words, “neck of
Figure 23 Matthew Potter standing on Inca
land” have been indicative of this
Highway in narrow Lurin Valley manmade feature? Even more descriptive
of a “line” is a great wall that was built on
the north side of the mouth of the Lurin Valley. Today, the remains of the wall,
approximately fifteen feet wide at the base and of equal height, can still be seen.
Although only remnants of the wall still exist, it appears to have run from where
the protective mountains ended to the seashore, thus, forming one last line of
defense. For invading armies from the southeast and south to be able to enter
the lands northward, they first had to overrun the high wall.
218
Sullivan, 223.
219
Cieza de León (2), 181-183 see footnotes 3 & 4 on page 183.
83
6. The Lurin Valley is a narrow valley. Its east end is a very narrow passage or gorge
through the mountains that would constitute a military “point” of defense. Cobo
described just how narrow the pass was on the road up the Lurin Valley: “The
part of this road of the plains that reaches the sierra and broken land was made
by hand with much work and skill. If it passed through hillsides with cliffs and
slabs of rock, a narrow path, only wide enough for one person leading a llama or
sheep, was dug in the boulders itself; and this type of construction did not run
very far, but as soon as the boulder or slab was passed, the road widened
again…. Along the parts of these hills and slopes where there was some ravine or
narrow gorge that cut off the road, even though it was three or four estados
deep, rock walls were also made from below and built up to the level of the
road.220 The narrow pass at the Andes end of the Lurin Valley appears to be the
place where the Spanish conquistadors feared for their lives as they returned to
Cajamarca. Hernando wrote: “The road was so bad that they [the Inca warriors]
could have easily taken us there or at another pass which we found between
here and Cajamarca. For we could not use the horses on the roads, not even
with skill, and off the roads we could take neither horses nor foot-soldiers.”221
Indeed the junction on the Inca roads in the Lurin Valley was a major military
position with a key “point” that was easy to defend. The point was the place
where the Inca highway passed through a narrow river gorge near the summit of
the valley.
7. The final criterion for any candidate for the narrow neck or pass was that it was
near a great city that was built by the Jaredites. The city was constructed near
the end of their era. Located at the mouth of the Lurin Valley are the ruins of the
city of Pacachamac. With its massive pyramids, it would appear to meet this
criterion. Unfortunately, the earliest dating for Pacachamac is AD 200222. Also,
Pacachamac was on the fortified highway, not “near” the pass, as described by
the Jaredites. However, just 2.5 miles north of Pacachamac, at Huaca Villa
Salvador, is the excavation of a more ancient city. These ruins date to the end of
the Early Horizon Period 1000 BC to 250 BC, placing it firmly within the context
of the late Jaredites. The ceramics at the site have an influence from the
northern Peru coastline, which would be consistent with the Jaredites at Norte
Chico having had a satellite city in the important Lurin Valley.223
Using the Book of Mormon’s criteria for the narrow neck of land, we see that there is an
excellent candidate in Peru. Perhaps some of the confusion surrounding the location of the
narrow neck of land comes from the assumption of many people that it was an isthmus. At first
220
Cobo, 225.
221
Hemming, John, Conquest of the Incas, (New York: Harcourt, 1970), 31.
222
UNESCO, World Heritage, “Archaeological Complex of ," http://whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelist/512/. 5 July
2007.
223
Stothert, Karen E., “The Villa Salvador Site and the Beginning of the Early Intermediate Period in the Lurin
Valley, Peru,” Journal of Field Archaeology, Vol. 7, No. 3 (Autumn, 1980), 279.
84
glance this appears to be the case, since we are told that the land of Nephi and the land of
Zarahemla were nearly surrounded by water (Alma 22:32). A more careful reading indicates
that it is the lands of Nephi and Zarahemla that are nearly surrounded by water, not the narrow
neck of land. The land of Nephi and the land Zarahemla were large land masses the borders of
which had water along them.
An interesting question remains, would the ancient Peruvians have called the Lurin Valley a
narrow “neck” of land between the land Bountiful and the land Desolation?” (3 Nephi 3:23) Of
this we cannot be certain. However we can compare it to a similar mountain pass where we
know what the Incas called it. The Book of Mormon refers to another geographic feature that
divided two of their lands as a “strip” (see Alma 22:27 – probably the passage between Lake
Titicaca and the Pacific Ocean, see Nephi in the Promised Land). Perhaps the most important
mountain pass in the Andes is the La Raya pass that in ancient times connected the capital city
of Cuzco with the empires of the Altiplano and Lake Titicaca. The La Raya pass formed the
boundary between the Inca's East and South quarters. It was an important trade corridor and
an even more important military asset. The height of the mountain pass is 14,232 feet above
sea level. Of course the name of the pass was translated into Spanish as “La Raya" which means
“the strip,” The name of the mountain that stands directly above the La Raya pass is called
Kunka in Quechua, meaning the "neck" in English. I believe it is no coincidence that the
Peruvians associate the terms "strip" and "neck" with mountain passes. It is another tribute to
the amazing accuracy of the Prophet Joseph Smith's translation of the golden plates.
Learn more by watching our DVD, Peru, Land of the Book of Mormon or reading my full-color
book, Nephi in the Promised Land. Both are available through our site www.nephiproject.com.
The book Nephi in the Promised Land can be ordered at Cedar Fort: http://www.cedarfort.com .
85
Figure 24 The Peruvian Alpaca the Spanish called sheep. The only animals domesticated in pre-Columbian America north of
Panama were dogs, turkeys and rabbits. Those living north of Panama would not have understood Alma’s words.
Behold, I say unto you, that the good shepherd doth call you;
yea, and in his own name he doth call you, which is the name of Christ;
and if ye will not hearken unto the voice of the good shepherd,
to the name by which ye are called, behold, ye are not the sheep
of the good shepherd. Alma 5:38
86
And verily I say unto you,
That ye are they of whom I said:
Other sheep I have which are not of this fold;
3 Nephi 15:21
Chapter Six
A Nephite Civilization in the Ancient Andes
The Nephites were Isrealites who brought with them to the

New World their technology, culture and religion. Indeed
they were the Lord’s other sheep who prospered exceeding
when they honored Him. The Book of Mormon describes
the Nephites as having been an advanced civilization for
their time. The Nephite religion, culture, government,
military, agriculture and industrial technologies were
sophisticated. If we are to construct a serious defense of
the Book of Mormon historicity, we must first accept that
the Nephites brought with them to the Americas a Semitic
culture and a sophisticated technology. This chapter will list
several of the characteristics the Book of Mormon
attributes to the Nephite civilization. Outside of Peru, very
few of these attributes have been known to have existed
anywhere in North, Central or South America in Book of
Mormon times. These characteristics are marked on the
Figure 21 where they are known to have existed in the Americas between 600 BC and 400 AD.
For any region of the Americas to quality as a serious candidate for the lands of the Nephites it
must be proven scientifically that these attributes existed there during the Book of Mormon
period.
Why would the Nephites have selected the difficult Peruvian highlands as a place to settle? It
must be remembered they were a very small group of migrants. To their south they were
outnumbered by the Lamanite tribes who were a constant threat to their survival. In Nephi’s
time, the shoreline of Peru was already ruled over by the powerful Chavín Empire. The steep
highland valleys represented an easy-to-defend homeland that seemingly no one else wanted.
87
It is somewhat like the Latter-day Mormon pioneers who fled angry mobs to a high-mountain
desert that no one else wanted; and like the Mormon pioneers, it took an industrious people
like the Nephites to have created Peru’s incredible landscape of mountains portioned by man-
made terraces and crisscrossed with vast irrigation networks.
Figure 25 Book of Mormon Cultural Elements in the Americas during Book of Mormon period.
88
The Nephite Civilization In the Ancient Andes
If we are to construct a serious defense of the Book of Mormon historicity, we must first accept
that the Nephites brought with them to the Americas a Semitic culture and a sophisticated
technology for their time. Here are a few of the characteristics the Book of Mormon attributes
to the Nephite civilization. Each characteristic is marked on the Figure 21 where it is known to
have existed in the Americas between 600 BC and 400 AD.
Gold and Gold Plates

Without the availability of gold and gold plates, the Book of Mormon would not have been
preserved (Jacob 4:2). The only place in North or South America, in Nephi’s time, where gold
was mined and/or hammered into plates was in Peru. 224 Recent finds in Peru date the earliest
gold works to 2155 to 1936 BC.225 By the Early Horizon period (1000 BC – 200 BC) gold work was
wide spread throughout the Andean civilizations.226 During the Early Horizon archaeological
period of Peru, which correlates to the era of the Jaredites and the Nephites, the Peruvians
were fabricating small metal sheets.227
The Nephites did not report finding fibers in the Promised Land from which paper could be
made; however, they did find gold in abundance, and the metal was Nephi’s chosen medium
for recording the sacred record of his people.
A fundamental question requires an explanation: “Without having gold how could the ancient
people in North and Central America have compiled the Book of Mormon library of gold plates;
let alone have had gold in abundance?” (Alma 1:29, Helaman 6:9) In recent decades several
examples of ancient inscriptions on metal plates have
been discovered. Perhaps the discovery that parallels
best the nature and history of the metal plates of the
Book of Mormon are the Copper Scrolls from Qumran.
Part of what are known as the Dead Sea Scrolls was
actually sacred metal plates, and the metal scrolls have
many things in common with the plates of the Book of
Mormon. They were written in a Semitic language
(Hebrew). The Qumran Copper Scrolls were of a sacred
Figure 26 Copper scrolls of Qumran
nature, containing a list of hidden temple treasures.
The copper plates were eventually hidden in the
224
Sorenson, John, “A Reconsideration of Early Metal in Mesoamerica, Katunob 9 (March 1976), 1-18. and An
Ancient American Setting for the Book of Mormon, 279-80. Randolph E. Schmid, “Andean find pushes earliest date
of metalworking back 1,000 years,” The Associated Press, 5 November 1998 (Washington), 1,2.
http://www.latinamericanstudies.org/inca/metal.htm.
225
Aldenderfer, M., Craig, N.M., Speakman, R.J. & Popelka-Filcoff, R., 2008. "Four-thousand-year-old gold artifacts
from the Lake Titicaca basin, southern Peru." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States
of America, 105(13), pp. 5002–5.
226
Bruhns, K.O., Ancient South America, (Cambridge, Mass. (Cambridge University Press,. 1994).
227
Metallurgy in Pre-Columbian America, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metallurgy_in_pre-
Columbian_America#cite_note-4 (Accessed 6 January 2012).
89
ground, presumably to be discovered in the future to bring their sacred message to a people of
another era.
The Nephites and Jaredites possessed advanced metallurgical skills. They worked gold, silver,
copper, brass, iron, and steel (Jarom 1:8; Ether 10:23).
Since the Archaic period that pre-dates even the Jaredites, the natives of North America used a
cold-hammering technique to work copper; however, there is no archaeological evidence that
they ever smelted metals. This would eliminate them having the alloys mentioned in the Book
of Mormon: brass, iron, or steel. Furthermore, there is no evidence that the ancient North
Americans had gold or silver in Book of Mormon times.228
Copper, gold, or silver hammering techniques did not reach Central America until 600 AD, well
after the gold plates of the Book of Mormon were written, abridged and buried in the ground.
229
The Olmec used exposed iron mineral or Ilmenite to form small artifacts; however, they did
not know how to smelt the ore into iron metal. The Ilmenites of the Olmec were only small
oxide mineral crystals that form naturally. The Olmec simply polished these small ore fragments
and drilled holes in the crystals. For this reason the Olmec artifacts have been referred to as
beads. Further, the Olmec did not know how to work gold, silver, or copper, nor did they know
how to smelt alloys like brass.230 Thus without gold or silver or the ability to smelt ore, the
Olmec people could not have been the advanced Jaredite metallurgists described in the Book of
Mormon.
And they did work in all manner of ore, and they did make gold and silver, and
iron, and brass and all manner of metals; and they did dig it out of the earth;
where they did cast up mighty heaps of earth to get ore, of gold, and of silver,
and of iron, and of copper. And they did work all manner of fine work. And they
did make all manner of tools to till the earth, both to plow and to sow, to reap
and to hoe, and also to thrash {thresh}. And they did make all manner of tools
with which they did work their beasts. And they did make all manner of weapons
of war. (Ether 10:23,25-27).
To discover the metallurgical skills used by the Book of Mormon people we need to look to
ancient South America. In 2007 archaeologists discovered cold-hammered gold artifacts at a
secure and undisturbed burial site at Jiskairumoko, Peru. It was a Late Archaic-Early Formative
228
Rapp Jr, George, Guy Gibbon & Kenneth Ames, Archaeology of Prehistoric Native America: an Encyclopedia,
(New York: Taylor & Francis, 1998), 26; Martin, S.R., Wonderful Power: The Story of Ancient Copper Working in the
Lake Superior Basin (Wayne State University Press. Great Lakes Books).
229
Hosler, Dorothy “Sound, Color and Meaning in the Metallurgy of Ancient West Mexico”, World Archaeology,
(1995, 27): 100-115).
230
Jones, Steven E., Samuel T. Jones, and David E. Jones, “Archaeometry Applied to Olmec Iron-Ore Beads”, BYU
Studies 37, no. 4 (1997-98),129-142).
https://www.fairmormon.org/answers/Question:_What_was_known_about_iron_in_ancient_America%3,
accessed 2 April 2018.
90
period site in the Lake Titicaca basin. Carbon-14 dating indicated that the discovery is the
earliest known gold recovery so far in the Americas – 2155-1936 BC 231
A particular skill the Book of Mormon people mastered was the process of hammering gold into
very thin plates on which they could write. Archaeologists have discovered that the Peruvians
possessed metal-hammering technology during the ages when the words of the Book of
Mormon were being etched.232 Charles Mann writes: “Andean societies vastly preferred to
hammer metal into thin sheets, form the sheets around
molds, and solder the results. The results were remarkable
by any standard—one delicate bust that [Heather]
Lechtman [MIT] analyzed was less than an inch tall but
made of twenty-two separate gold plates painstakingly
joined.”233
The discovery in the Lake Titicaca area has caused the

archaeologists to question their assumption that a hunting
and gathering people could not work gold. 234 They
believed that the early people of the Lake Titicaca basin
Figure 27 Gold and copper necklace
northern Peru dating to Book of Mormon were not advanced enough to possess such technology.
period. What they did not realize is that a group of colonists, the
231
Aldenderfer, Mark, Nathan M. Craig, Robert J. Speakman and Rachel Popelka-Filcoff, “Four-Thousand-Year-Old
Gold Artifacts from the Lake Titicaca Basin, Southern Peru,” Proceeding of the National Academy of Science of the
USA, April 1, 2008, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0710937105, accessed 2 April 2018.)
232
Sorenson. John, An Ancient American Setting for the Book of Mormon, p. 278-280: The earliest piece so far
probably dates back to around the first century BC It is a bit of copper sheathing found on top of an altar at
Cuicuilco in the Valley of Mexico [Bryon Cummings, "Cuicuilco and the Archaic of Mexico," University of Arizona,
Bulletin IV, no. 8 Social Science Bulletin, 4 (Tucson, 1933), pp. 38-39; Robert F. Heizer and James A. Bennyhoff,
"Archaeological Investigation of Cuicuilco, Valley of Mexico, 1957", Science 127, no 3292 (1958): 232-33]. Metal
work in the Americas was first developed in Peru and then much later transferred north to Mesoamerica. Celia
Heil, "The Significance of Metallurgy in the Purhepecha Religion," in Across Before Columbus, Ed. By Donald Y.
Gilmore and Linda S. Mc Elroy, New England Antiquities Research Association (NEARA), Laconia, NH, 1998, pp. 43-
51, "South American metallurgical technology…seems to have moved northward with the coastal maritime trade,
and this knowledge is apparently included the skills of smelting, hot and cold hammering, and casting by both lost
wax and open molds. The Chavin of Peru appear to have been the innovators in metallurgy, probably before 500
BC, followed by artisans of Colombia and Ecuador. It could have been even earlier, however, as some samples have
been dated to about 1500 BC in the high Andes, where hammering was the method, and there was particular
interest in color." Also Richard L. Burger and Robert B. Gordon, "Early Central Andean Metalworking from Mina
Perdida, Peru," Science. Vol. 282, No. 5391 (6 Nov. 1998), states "Copper and gold artifacts in context online
abstract of the Science article pp. 1108-1111. The date dated to approximately 3120 to 3020 carbon-14 years
before the present (approximately 1410-1090 calendar years BC), "recovered in excavation at Mina Perdida, Lurin
Valley Peru, show that artisans hammered native metals into thin foils, in some cases with intermediate anneals.
They gilded copper artifacts by attaching gold foil. The artifacts show that fundamental elements of the Andeans’
metallurgical tradition were developed before the Chavin horizon, and that on the Peruvian coast the working of
native copper preceded the production of smelted copper objects."
233
Mann, Charles, 1491: New Revelations of the Americas, (New York: Vintage Books, 2006), 91-92.
234
Ibid. 1/17.
91
Jaredites, who possessed the technology had recently migrated to the area.
Gold is found along the entire length of the Andes Mountains, both in veins and alluvial
deposits.235 In Nephite times the Peruvian cultures of the Chavín (1000-200 BC), Vicús and FrÍas
(200 BC to 300 AD), Moche (400 BC to 700 AD) had “high metallurgical ability, demonstrated by
the presence of beautiful artifacts of gold, silver, and copper alloys.”236
Silver
The Nephites became rich in both gold and silver (Jarom 1:8, Alma 1:29; 4:6; Helaman 6:9). Like
gold, silver smelting has a long history in Peru. So far the earliest discovery of silver smelting in
the Lake Titicaca area dates back to 40 BC – 120 AD, which makes it the oldest known silver
smelting in the Americas. The discovery was made at Huajje, a mound with pottery shards
dating to 500 BC237 It seems likely then that silver was being mined there even earlier. The
process used to produce the silver at Huajje was described as “complex, multistage, labor-
intensive.”238 Several Peruvian silver mines have been dated to 200 BC239 During the Spanish
colonial times, the silver mines at Potosí in Bolivia produced 200 tons annually, representing
68% of the world silver production.240
Copper
There was a high demand for copper in ancient Peru. Copper, and its use dates to 600 BC241
The metal was used for farming, weapons, and in domestic use. Georg Petersen writes, “The
lack of studies and statistics make it difficult to estimate the tons and volume of copper
consumed during pre-Columbian time. It is similarly difficult to estimate the extent of copper
mining that took place in ancient Peru, however, copper was used widely and was very
important to ancient Peruvians.”242 Today, some of the largest copper mines in the world are
found in Peru and Chile.
235
Petersen, Georg, “Mining and Metallurgy in Ancient Peru,” Arqueologicas 12, (Lima, Institute of Anthropological
Investigations, 2010, Special Paper 467, The Geological Society of America 2010).
236
Cesareo, Roberto and co-authors, “Evolution of Pre-Columbian Metallurgy from North of Peru Studied…”,
Journal of Materials Science and Engineering B 1 (2011),
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/249998506_JMSE-E20101027-2, accessed 2 April 2018.
237
Schultze, Carol A. and Charles Stanish, other, “Direct Evidence of 1,900 Years of Indigenous Silver Production in
the Lake Titicaca Basin of Southern Peru,” Proceeding of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA, PNAS,
October 13, 2009. 106 (41) 17280-17283, https://www.pnas.org/content/106/41/17280,
accessed 2 April 2018.
238
Ibid.
239
Petersen, 27
240
Ibid. 28
241
Ibid.
242
Ibid.
92
Brass/Steel
The ancient Peruvians created brass by mixing copper with zinc and arsenic. Copper-arsenic
alloy, brass, was poured into molds to create hard metal farm tools and ornaments. Brass works
in Peru have been dated to the Early Moche time (400 BC).243 William Hamblin argues that the
term steel in the Book of Mormon, and as used in the King James Bible, meant copper or bronze
(a hardened copper alloy created by mixing copper with tin).244 The ancient Peruvians were
amazing metallurgists. A recent study tested 120 different metal alloys worked by the northern
Peru cultures that existed during Book of Mormon times. The combined use of gold, silver, and
copper formed several alloys that archaeologists refer to as tumbaga.245
Iron
Ore deposits are referred to five times in the Book of Mormon. It was not until 2008 that
archaeologists discovered the only known pre-Columbian iron ore mine in the Americas. The
mine dates back at least 2000 years and was discovered at Nasca, Peru.246
A Vanished Written Language
The latest research by Gary Urton, the Dumbarton Oaks Professor of Pre-Columbian Studies in
the Archeology Department at Harvard University,247 supports the oral traditions that the early
Incas had a written language that eventually became lost.248 Indeed, the fact that all traces of
Peru’s ancient written languages have vanished is a direct fulfillment of Jacob’s prophecy. The
prophet wrote:
I, Jacob, having ministered much unto my people in word, (and I cannot write
but a little of my words, because of the difficulty of engraving our words upon
plates) and we know that the things which we write upon plates must remain;
but whatsoever things we write upon anything save it be upon plates must
perish and vanish away. (bold added, Jacob 4:1, 2)
Jacob’s use of the word “must” implies an unconditional prophecy that all Nephite written
records, with the exception of the plates, would vanish. This appears to be exactly what
happened in Peru.
243
Petersen, 61; Cesareo, 2
244
Hamblin, William, “Steel in the Book of Mormon,” https://www.fairmormon.org/archive/publications/steel-in-
the-book-of-mormon , FAIR Mormon, 2018 Fair Conference, August 1-3, accessed 2 April 2018.
245
Cesareo, 2.
246
(no author stated, “Archaeologist ‘Strike God’ with Finds of Ancient Nasca Iron Ore Mine,” Science Daily,
http://www.science-daily.com/releases /2008/01/080129125405,htm, (Accessed 3 February 2008).
247
Mann, 397.
248
Hiltunen Juha J., Ancient Kings of Peru, The Reliability of the Chronicle of Fernando de Montesinos (Helsinki,
Suomen Historiallinen Sevra, 1999), 354.
93
Once vanished, is it possible for a written language to return from the dust? The Book of
Mormon contains the prophecy of Isaiah that is often used in reference to the book itself.
However, the verse might also apply to the recovery of the actual ‘speech’ and ‘language’ of
those who were destroyed:
For those who shall be destroyed {Nephites}, shall speak unto them out of the
ground, and their speech shall be low out of the dust, and their voice shall be as
one that hath a familiar spirit; for the Lord God will give unto him power, that he
may whisper concerning them, even as it were out of the ground; and their
speech shall whisper out of the dust. (2 Nephi 26:16)
In a dusty unprotected grave in Peru, Urton recently discovered twenty-one bundles of knotted
strings. The multicolored tangle of several dozen arm-length knotted strings are called quipus.
Because the Incas held some of the quipus to be sacred, the Spanish ordered their destruction.
At one point in history, it was believed that all the quipus had been burned. Each knot-type on a
quipu and the color of each string had its own meaning, which could only be read by one
trained in the code. Thus, while a quipu might appear to be a decorative wall hanging to the
untrained eye, in reality it is an amazing seven-bit binary code capable of conveying large
amounts of information.249 Galen Brokaw, an expert in ancient Andean texts at the State
University of New York in Buffalo states, “Most serious scholars of khipu (quipu) today believe
that they were more than mnemonic devices, and probably much more.”250 Though the only
existing quipus are from the Inca period, as Mann writes, “it is widely assumed that the Inca
built on other, earlier forms of writing that had been
developed in the region.”251
Anthropologist Urton notes, “…it is important to appreciate

the role played by one indigenous recording device in
particular, the quipu, in the collection and recording of Inca
myths and histories in early colonial times. Quipus, from the
Quechua word for ‘knot,’ were linked bundles of dyed and
knotted strings, which were used by the Incas to record both
statistical information that could be interpreted—in some
manner that we do not yet fully understand—by experts called
quipucamayoqs (‘knot-makers or keepers’) in narrating stories
about the Inca past.252
One of the early chroniclers, Cobo, wrote of the quipos: “By
249
Wilford, John Noble, “String and Knot, Theory of Inca Writing,” New York Times, 12 August 2003. Article reports
on news conference with Dr. Gary Urton's research on Quipus. His research is funded by the National Science
Foundation, the Dumbarton Oaks Foundation, Harvard's Faculty of Arts and Sciences, and the John D. and
Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, which in 2001 awarded Urton a MacArthur Fellowship. Nicholas Wade, “
Untying the Knots of the Inca” (New York Times, 19 August 2005).
250
Brokaw, Galen, quoted by Mann, 395.
251
Mann, 397.
252
Urton, 25.
94
these recording devices and registers they conserved the memory of their acts, and the Inca’s
overseers and accountants.... On explaining their meaning, the Indians that know them related
many things about ancient times that are contained in them. There were people designated for
this job of accounting. These officers were called quipo camayos, and they were like our
historians, scribes, and accountants, and the Inca had great confidence in them.”253 Father
Cobo offered an account he was familiar with that demonstrated that the quipos recorded
historical information.
Two Spaniards left together from the town of Ica to go to the city of Castro Virreina,
and arriving at the tambo of Cordoba, which is a day’s travel from Ica, one of them
stayed there and the other continued his trip; at this tambo this latter traveler was
given an Indian guide to accompany him to Castro Virreina. This Indian killed the
Spaniard on the road and returned to the tambo (royal inns along the Inca
highways). After some time passed, since the Spaniard was very well known, he was
missed. The governor of Castro Virreina, who at that time was Pedro de Cordoba
Mejia, a native of Jaen, made a special investigation to find out what had happened.
And in case the man had been killed, he sent a large number of Indians to look for
the body in the puna and desert. But no sign of him could be found, nor could
anyone find out what had become of him until more than six years after he had
been killed. By chance the body of another Spaniard was found in a cave of the same
desert. The governor ordered that this body be brought to the plaza so that it could
be seen, and once it was brought, it looked like the one the Indian had killed, and,
believing that it was he, the governor continued with the investigation to discover
the killer. Not finding any trace or evidence against anybody, he was advised to
make an effort to find out the identity of the Indian who was given to the deceased
as a guide at the tambo of Cordoba. The Indians would know this in spite of the fact
that more than six years had passed because by means of the record of the quipos
they would have kept memory of it. With this the governor sent for the caciques
(chief of town) and quipo camayos. After they were brought to him and he
continued with the investigation, the quipo camayos found out by their quipos the
identity of the Indian who had been given as a guide to the aforementioned
Spaniard. The Indian guide was brought prisoner immediately from his town, called
Guaytara….
Having given his declaration in which he denied the crime, he was questioned under
torture, and at once he confessed for having killed the man and then showed the
police where the body was. Police officers went with him to the puna (Andes
highlands), and they found the body where the Indian guide had hidden it. 254
253
Cobo, 254.
254
Cobo, 254-5.
95
Referred to at times as the Pliny of the New World, José de Costa, a Jesuit missionary, wrote in
the 16th century that quipus were “witnesses and authentic writing.” He wrote “I saw a bundle
of these strings on which a woman had brought a written testimony of her whole life and used
it to confess just as I would have done with words written on paper.” 255
Today, archaeologists have discovered some 700 quipus, almost all having been retrieved from
dusty graves. Their string-and-knot technology for storing information might seem primitive,
but actually it was quite advanced. Five hundred years after the fall of the Inca Empire,
computers were invented. These twentieth-century digital machines use an eight-bite binary
code to store data. The knots provide 128 possible permutations multiplied by 24 different
colors. Thus the code used by the cord keepers provided them 1,536 separate units of meaning.
This compares to the estimated 1,000 to 1,500 Sumerian cuneiform signs, and double the
number of signs in the hieroglyphs of the ancient Egyptians and the Maya of Central America.256
Indeed. Costa might have been right when he wrote nearly five centuries ago, “Whoever wants
may judge whether this [the use of quipus] is clever or if these people are brutish, but I judge it
is certain that, in that which they here apply themselves, they get the better of us.”257
What makes the twenty-one quipus in Urton’s study so special is that they might contain an
Inca deciphering device similar to the famous Rosetta stone that was used to decipher the
Egyptian hieroglyphics. The stone now stands in the British National Museum, and was the key
that unlocked our knowledge of ancient Egypt. The twenty-one quipus in the Harvard group
were uncovered from the ruins of the Inca city called Peruchuco. Seven of these quipus start
out with the same binary sequence of knots. It is believed that these identical sequences
indicated the name ‘Peruchuco,’ the place the quipus came from. Scientists are hopeful that
they can use this information and with the help of computers and advance mathematical
algorithms, unlock the rest of the code. 258
Urton and Harvard mathematics graduate student Carrie J. Brezine have been joined by Jean-
Jacques Quisquater and Vincent Castus from the Catholic University of Lou-vain in Belgium, and
the father-son MIT computer science team of Martin and Erik Demaine. As of January 2007 the
team has already found 3,000 different groups of repeated five-knot sequences.259 If the team
continues its astonishing rate of success, they might soon recover the lost language of the
quipus, and the world might hear, as Isaiah proclaimed, the voices of “those who shall be
destroyed, shall speak unto them out of the ground.”*KJV ‘dust’, Isaiah 29:4+ Catherine Julien a
historian of Andean cultures at Western Michigan University said in reference to the Harvard
attempt to decipher the quipus, “We may be able to hear the Inkas for the first time in their
own voice.”
255
Cook, Gareth, “Untangling the Mystery of the Inca,” Wired, January 2007, (San Francisco), 145-146)
256
Wilford.
257
Cook, 147.
258
Wilford.
259
Cook, 146.
96
Barley (genus Hordeum)
This temperate climate grain is native to parts of North America and Peru.260 It was used for
food by the Peruvians in Book of Mormon times.261 Barley is mentioned in the Book of Mormon
three times (Mos. 7:22; 9:11; Alma 11:7).
Wheat (Quihicha Amaranthus caudaatus)
Called Inca wheat this grain is a species of the large group of amaranth plants. The grain has
been a source of food for the Peruvians since ancient times.262 Wheat is identified in the Book
of Mormon twice (Mos. 9:11; 3 Nephi 18:18).
Corn
The Nephites grew corn (Mosiah 9:6-9). Corn was raised by the ancient people of both
Mesoamerica and South America. The first Inca king, whose life’s accomplishments mirror
those of Nephi263, introduced the cultivation of corn in the Cuzco Valley in Peru around 600
BC264 We know that Nephi introduced cultivation when he founded the city of Nephi (2 Nephi
5:11).
Highway builders
The Incas built and maintained an incredible

network of highways that was longer than
the Roman highway system and was
comparable in quality to the roads that led
to Rome.265 The Inca highway system had
some 25,000 miles of surface tracks and was
in its time the biggest road system in the
world266
One Spaniard described the Inca roads: “He

proceeded on his journey through that
land—which, although it is a level country, it
is very rough, with high mountains that
Figure 28 Lake Titicaca at 12,500 feet asl and the might Andes at seem to reach the clouds and descend
over 21,000 feet asl.
again infinitely into profound valleys.
Although this is true, the royal highway of
260
The Free Dictionary, “Barley,” http://www.thefreedictionary.com/barley (Accessed 18 December 2011)
261
“The Nazca Lines,” http://www.students.sbc.edu/sung08/senior%20seminar/Nazca/TheNazcaLines.htm.
(Accessed 18 December 2011).
262
“ Inca Wheat,”http://www.foodtimeliNephiorg/foodmaya.html (assessed 15 December 2011)
263
Potter, George D. Nephi in the Promised Land, (Springville, Utah: Cedar Fort Inc., 2009) 109-121.
264
Bauer, 26.
265
Urton, 15 .
266
Mann, 71.
97
the Incas, who were so powerful, is also so well made and built through slopes and sections
that one almost does not feel the height of the mountains.”267 The Inca road system ran
straight through the Andean mountains forming parallel north-south tracks running nearly the
entire length of the great mountain range.
The Nephites were “highway” builders (Helaman 14:24, 3 Nephi 8:13). Kocherhans draws our
attention to the great height of the Andes and cites the words of the Book of Mormon: “…many
places which are now called valleys which shall become mountains, whose height is great. And
many highways shall be broken up,…” (Helaman 12:23-24). Kohcerhans lists the following
heights of some of the tallest peaks in the Andes:
Santa Marta 19,309 ft.

Chita 17,589
Tolima 18,436
Huila 18,700
Cotopaxi 19,498
Chimborazo 20,702
Huascaran 22,180
Vilcanota 20,644
Misti 19,200
Sajama 21,320
Llullaillaco 22,145
Ojos del Salado 22,405
Mercedario 21,810
Aconcagua 23,080
Tupungato 21,810
Malpu 17,388 ft.268
There are many other towering peaks in the Andes, e.g., Mount Illimani in Bolivia that towers
21,184 feet above sea level. Cobo writes of the Inca highways:
The Incas had two royal roads constructed that ran the length of their kingdom from
the province of Quito [Ecuador] to the Kingdom of Chile, which is nine hundred
leagues (2,500 miles), one along the plains and seacoast and the other inland
through the provinces of the sierra. In some places, it was thirty leagues from the
coast, in others fifty or sixty, more or less, according to the lay of the land. Apart
from these roads, which ran together from one end of the kingdom to the other like
parallel lines, there were in different places four to six other transverse roads going
from one side to the other; these cut across the two main roads already mentioned.
267
Cieza de Leon (2), 264.
268
Kocherhans, Nephi to Zarahemla, (Orem, UT: Granite Publishing, 2002), 24.
98
The length of these transverse roads was equal to the width of the Peruvian Empire.
The most important of these ran through the city of Cuzco, crossing the long road of
the sierra *the one running through the high Andes+….269
Hammond Innes explains that the Inca roads included “pack animal stairways [that] climbed as
high as 15,600 feet,” and suspension bridges that utilized “rope cables, some as thick as a man’s
body slung the roads across deep river gorges.”270 McIntyre writes that he discovered an Inca
bridge still being maintained in our day:
That marvelous “Bridge of San Luis Rey” collapsed about 1890 after five centuries of
heavy usage.
Within a week (we) were jumping with joy on the brink of the upper Apurimac
gorge, our shouts echoing from the opposite cliff. We had found the chaca still
hanging! Three hundred feet below us, swaying over a deep green pool, it gleamed
like Inca gold. Downstream the voices of the Great Speaker, the Apurimac [river],
warned of rapids beyond a dark defile.
We clawed down the precipice to approach the span, which hung 60 feet above the
river.
Suddenly a voice cautioned. “Don’t cross! The bridge is dying!” It was our first
meeting with Luis Choqueneira.
He told us: I am one of the chaca camayocs [keepers of the bridge]. My people feel
sad about abandoning the keshwa chaca for a new steel bridge upstream. So we’re
going to rebuild it when the New Year comes, just as we have done every year since
Tupa Inca ordered our ancestors to do so.”271
In all, some 22,000 feet of hand-spun rope go into reconstruction of the span, which
sways 60 feet above the river.”272
Cieza de León reported that the Inca bridge at Vilcas had a span of 166 pasos (approximately
400 feet).273
Maintained along the entire highway systems were royal lodgings and storehouses to facilitate
the travel of the nobles. There were also the huts of the famous chasques, (meaning receivers
of messages) every quarter of a league (.65 miles). Until I was a missionary in Peru and learned
of the tradition of the message runners, I wondered how the Nephites were able to
communicate so speedily. For example, King Benjamin asked to have all the people in the land,
both the people of Zarahemla and the people of Mosiah, be brought together. The very next
269
Cobo, 223.
270
Innes, Hammond, The Conquistadors (New York: Alfred A. Khopf , 1969) 259.
271
McIntry, Loren. “Lost Empire of the Incas.” National Geographic 144, no. 6 (December 1973), 780-781.
272
McIntyre, 782.
273
Calderwood, 427.
99
morning the people had already gathered to the temple (Mosiah 1:10, 2:1-2). The chasque
network explains such phenomena. Pulitzer Prize winning science reporter Gareth Cook notes,
“They [Incas] even put together a kind of Bronze Age Internet, a system of messenger posts
along the major roads. In one day, Incan runners amped on coca leaves could rely news some
150 miles down the network.”274 Cobo describes the incredible chasque network or roads and
runners:
In each one of these huts two Indians always resided, and therefore, in every pair
located together at intervals of (.65 mile), four men were stationed. They performed
the job of runners and messengers, who with incomparable speed carried the orders
and commandments of the Inca to the governors and caciques of the whole
kingdom, and the runners brought the news that was sent to the Inca at his court or
wherever he was located. Therefore, in a very brief time the Inca knew what was
happening in all of his states and word was spread there of all that he ordered….275
These chasques ran with such speed that in ten or twelve days the Inca had an
answer in Cuzco from the orders that he sent to Quito, even though these two cities
are four hundred leagues (approximately 1,040 miles) apart, and in one day, twenty-
four hours, it was normal for a message to travel fifty leagues (approximately 130
miles).
The Incas also used the runners and messengers when they felt like having
something especially delicious that needed to be brought from far away; if, while he
was in Cuzco, the Inca felt a desire to some fresh fish from the sea, his order was
acted upon with such speed that, although that city was over seventy leagues (180
miles) from the sea [and at an attitude of over 10,500 feet], the fish was brought to
him very fresh in less than two days….*in comparison+ letters were carried from this
city of Lima to the city of Cuzco in three days over one hundred and forty leagues
(460 miles) of very bad road over very broken sierras. Now it takes the Spanish mail
by horse twelve to thirteen days to do the same.276
The chronicler Montesinos wrote that the chasques originally carried written messages, not the
quipos.277
Sheep
In the Promised Land, the term “flocks” was used sixty-three times in the Book of Mormon,
being found in the Nephite records of 2 Nephi, Enos, Mosiah, Alma, Helaman, and 3 Nephi.
Sheep are mentioned twenty-four times in the Book of Mormon, and herds, are noted in the
book twenty-three times. The Nephite scriptures refer to the profession of shepherding
seventeen times. One of the most memorable stories in the Book of Mormon unfolds as
274
Cook, 144.
275
Cobo, 229.
276
Cobo, 230.
277
Calderwood, 288.
100
Ammon is guarding the king’s flocks (Alma 17:26). Further, herds, flocks, and sheep were
important icons in the message delivered by the Lord to the people in the New World. The Lord
careful formulated parables and symbols to match the images of the common everyday life of
those that sat before him. The only animals domesticated by Native Americans north of
Panama were dogs, rabbits, and turkeys. However, the people of Peru maintained great
domesticated herds of alpacas, which the Spanish believed were rams, sheep and lambs.278
Here are two examples from the writing of early Spanish chroniclers about alpacas: 1) “the
lords of Cuzco made many and very great sacrifices…a large amount of livestock in sheep and
lambs”279; 2) “Eating those good rams that they found there, which are extraordinary and more
flavorable than the excellent ones of Spain.280” If the Spanish believed the Alpaca were a breed
of sheep, it is likely that the Nephites came to the same conclusion.
Horses
The Native American horses became extinct at the end of

the Pleistocene period along with the woolly Mammoth
and several other large mammals. The Book of Mormon
states that there were horses in America in Nephite times
(1 Nephi 18:25, etc.). What did Nephi mean when he used
the term “horse”? Nowhere in the Book of Mormon does
the text mention anyone riding a horse. Could Nephi’s
horses have been other pack animals with a similar
appearance to a horse and which functioned as a beast of
Figure 29 Peruvian Llamas burden? Could Nephi have simply called another animal a
horse because it reminded him in some way of an Old
World horse; e.g., the ancient Greeks naming the Hippopotamus–meaning a river horse? The
Spanish conquistadors called the Peruvian alpacas sheep.281 Neal Rappleye reminds us:
Matters of translation are complicated, however, and very often fuzzy notions of
‘literal’ translation hinge more on unexplored assumptions than actual data.9
What’s more, if the Nephites applied Old World terms meaning horse, sheep,
cattle, or pig to New World species, then those were the “correct” labels within
Nephite taxonomy. As such, translation using those terms is no more “incorrect”
than continued American usage of terms like “robin,” “elk,” and “buffalo,” all of
which originally referred to completely different Old World species before being
278
Cieza de León, 109,113.
279
Betanzos, 77.
280
Cieza de León, Incas of Pedro de Cieza de León, (Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press, 1959), 311.
281
Cieza de León, Pedro de Cieza de León, Incas of Pedro de Cieza de León, (Norman, OK: University of
Oklahoma Press, 1959 [1553])109, 113..
101
borrowed and applied to unfamiliar animals in the New World by European
settlers.282
When the Incas saw Spanish horses for the first time they called them “llamas.” It is reasonable
then that Nephi would have called llamas “horses.” Today, llamas are still used to pull carts and
are capable of pulling a chariot (Alma 18:9; 18:10,12; 3 Nephi 3:22; 21:14). 283
Evidence of a Fair-Skinned Race
There are oral traditions of a fair-skinned people who once lived among the peoples of Central
and South America, however, is there any evidence? When the Spanish arrived in Peru they
found that the ruling Inca tribe “were white, a light brown color, and among the lords and
ladies, they were more white, like the Spaniards.” The reports of fair-skinned people in the
Andes at the time of the Spanish conquest appear to have been recently substantiated through
genetic studies. The Book of Mormon hints that not all the Nephites were destroyed (Moroni
1:2). Indeed, the Lord promised that a remnant of the Nephites would survive (2 Nephi 3:3). For
this reason, it is interesting that a tall fair-skinned tribe still exists in the Andes of Peru. They are
the Chachapoya, and can still be visited. John Roach of the National Geographic News writes
“On the eastern slope of the Andes mountains in northern Peru, forests cloak the ruins of a pre-
Inca civilization, the size and scope of which explorers and archaeologists are only now
beginning to understand. Known as the Chachapoya, the civilization covered an estimated
25,000 square miles (65,000 square kilometers). The Chachapoyas, distinguished by fair skin
and great height, lived primarily on ridges and mountaintops in circular stone houses.284
A 2008 London Daily Article reported that a lost city had been discovered in Peru and that it
was linked to the legendary white-skinned people.
“Ancient city discovered deep in Amazonian rainforest linked to the legendary

white-skinned Cloud People of Peru”
A lost city discovered deep in the Amazon rainforest could unlock the secrets of a
legendary tribe. Little is known about the Cloud People of Peru, an ancient, white-
skinned civilization wiped out by disease and war in the 16th century. But now
archaeologists have uncovered a fortified citadel in a remote mountainous area of Peru
known for its isolated natural beauty.
It is thought this settlement may finally help historians unlock the secrets of the 'white
warriors of the clouds'.” The tribe had white skin and blonde hair - features which
intrigue historians, as there is no known European ancestry in the region, where most
282
Rappleye, Neal, “A Scientist Looks at the Book of Mormon,” Interpreter: A Journal of Mormon Scriptures, 10,
2014, 123-131.
283
Potter, Nephi in the Promised Land, 36-37.
284
Roach, John, ”Pre-Inca Ruins Emerge from Peru’s Cloud Forest,” National Geographic News, 16 September
2004, http://ironlight.wordpress.com/2010/03/17/who-were-the-chachapoyas/ (Accessed 23 December 2011).
102
inhabitants are darker skinned. The citadel is tucked away in one of the most far-flung
areas of the Amazon. It sits at the edge of a chasm which the tribe may have used as a
lookout to spy on enemies.
The area where the lost city was discovered by a team of archaeologists. The
Chachapoyas, also called the Warriors of the Clouds, were an Andean people living in
the cloud forests of the Amazonian region of present-day Peru….
Even the name they called themselves is unknown. The term Chachapoyas, or 'Cloud
People,’ given to them by the Incas. Their culture is best known for the Kuellap fortress
on the top of a mountain in Utcubamba, which can only be compared in scale to the
Incas' Machu Picchu retreat, built hundreds of years later. Two years ago, archaeologists
found an underground burial vault inside a cave with five mummies, two intact with skin
and hair.
Chachapoyas chronicler Pedro Cieza de Leon wrote of the tribe: 'They are the whitest
and most handsome of all the people that I have seen, and their wives were so beautiful
that because of their gentleness, many of
them deserved to be the Incas' wives and
to also be taken to the Sun Temple. 'The
women and their husbands always
dressed in woolen clothes and in their
heads they wear their llautos [a woolen
turban], which are a sign they wear to be
known everywhere.'285
Woven Armor
The Nephite army dressed for battle with

“breast plates, and with arm-shields, yea,
and also shields to defend their heads,
and also they were dressed with thick
Figure 30 Nasca Peru Pottery showing armor of fair-skinned and dark
skinned warriors
clothing” (Alma 43:19). Peruvian pottery
from Book of Mormon times clearly show
light-skinned warriors dressed in full armor fighting naked dark-skinned enemies (Alma 43:20).
Charles Mann writes of the Incas, “Andean textiles were woven with great precision-elite
garments could have a thread count of five hundred per inch - and structured in elaborate
layers. Soldiers wore armor made of sculpted, quilted cloth that was almost as effective at
shielding the body as European armor and much lighter.”286
285
Mail Online, London Daily Mail, 04th December 2008.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1091550/Ancient-city-discovered-deep-Amazonian-rainforest-linked-
legendary-white-skinned-Cloud-People-Peru.html#, accessed January 2009.
286
Mann, 93.
103
Solar and Lunar Calendars
The Nephites calculated their history by counted solar years from the time they left Jerusalem.
They also used lunar months (Omni 1:21). Both the ancient Peruvians, Olmec and the Mayan
used solar and lunar calendars. Although it is not possible to date how early these calendars
were used, it is interesting to note that the earliest known solar observatory in the Americas
was discovered in Peru dating back to the fourth century BC.287
The Music of the Book of Mormon
Trumpets are mentioned in the Book of Mormon five times, including the use of these
instruments by the Jaredites to invite the armies of Shiz to battle (Ether 14:28). Therefore, it
should not come as a surprise to Book of Mormon students that trumpets were used in ancient
Peru and Mesoamerica. Archaeologist Ernest David Adams Oshige provides the following
examples of ancient Peruvian trumpets found in the King’s Palace at Pukara (Stanish 2003:4;
Kaulicke 2001:503). “The pututu was a trumpet made from a large seashell or a hollow cow
horn. It was not used to play music but mostly used for communicating an important arrival and
was also used in religious ceremonies.”
Food storage
Peruvians had the ancient world’s foremost preparedness program. Not only did they carefully
preserve huge grain stashes, they also stored supplies of clothing and other essential items.
They even named their land after their storage program. Sullivan writes:
Pirua, {Peru} and its Aymara variant pirua, refers to a kind of building, a round storehouse for
grain. These structures relied for their stability, as did the Ages of the World, on four sturdy
pillars, around which were worked wattle and daub into a round shape….The pirua was the
ancient granary of the peasantry. Arriaga and Acosta both noted the ceremonies of the
peasantry concerned with guarding their crops in the pirua.
Perhaps the Peruvians learned to keep large stores of provision because of the long sieges put
on the Nephites by the Gadianton robbers. “But behold, this was an advantage to the Nephites;
for it was impossible for the robbers to lay siege sufficiently long to have any effect upon the
Nephites, because of their much provisions which they had laid up in store” (3 Nephi 4:18). The
Inca capital had dozens of storages houses, but these were insignificant when compared to the
thousands of units that were located in the largest provincial centers.
The Incas believed that their fair-skinned god Viracocha ,Christ- had “given them food and the
way to preserve it.” Besides being prepared for the hereafter, the Peruvians had a long history
of being prepared for the here and now, and for uncertainties such as famines. Mann writes:
“The Spanish invaders were stunned to find warehouses overflowing with untouched cloth and
supplies. But to the Inka the brimming coffers signified prestige and plenty; it was all part of the
287
Harris, Richard “Oldest Solar Observatory in Americas Found in Peru.”, National Public Radio, April 28, 2007,
http://www.npr.ort/templates/story.php?storyId=7658847, 1, Accessed April 2008).
104
plan." Most important, Tahuantinsuyu [Four Quarters—the Inca name for their empire]
“managed to eradicate hunger,” the Peruvian novelist Mario Vargas Llosa noted. Though no fan
of the Inka, he noted “only a very small number of empires throughout the whole world have
succeeded in achieving this feat.”
Betanzos recorded: “These storehouses were so well supplied with all of the things necessary
for their lives and needs that in them there was even footwear for rams made of cabuya, which
is used like hemp in Spain. There were not only storehouses for garments and wool and the
other necessities, but there were also large corrals of livestock along with this. The corrals, just
like the storehouses, were well supplied for these provisions and benefactions.”
Fine apparel
The Nephites wore “costly apparel” and they appear to have done so to distinguish rich from
poor. (Jacob 2:13, Alma 1:6,32;4:6;5:53;31:28; 4 Nephi 1:24; Alma 1:27, Helaman 12:28). The
Nasca people in ancient Peru were the world’s master weavers in Book of Mormon times. They
wore “mantles, tunics, turbans and turban bands, head cloths, headbands, loincloths, slings,
pads, and fringes.288” Alan Sawyer discovered that the Nasca used textile work to distinguish
status differences in their society.289 The Nasca created remarkable textiles “needle-knitting or
the cross-knit loop stitch used to produce extraordinary three-dimensional textiles, plainweave,
double cloth, gauze, tapestry and plaiting. Plainweave textiles could be superstructurally
decorated by magnificent embroidery.290”
Highly skilled battlefield doctors
Until World War Two, far more soldiers died from diseases and battlefield wounds than
perished during the actual fighting. This certainly would have been true during Book of Mormon
times. We read that the Lamanites are warned by General Moroni that “I will command my
men that they shall fall upon you, and inflict the wounds of death in your bodies, that ye may
become extinct” (Alma 44:7). Even during the American Civil War, which took place after the
Book of Mormon was published, survival rates for battlefield wounded was disheartening. The
US National Institutes of Health reports that there were 175,000 extremity wounds to Union
soldiers during the Civil War. Of these, 30,000 required amputation with a 26.3% mortality
rate.291 In contrast, it appears that the Nephi battlefield doctors had incredible skills in saving
their warriors. Take for example the Ammonite stripling warriors of whom all 2,066 incurred
many battlefield wounds yet none of them expired thanks to immediate battlefield treatment
of their wounds and the grace of God.
288
Silverman, Helaine and Donald A. Proulx. The Nasca: The Peoples of America Series (Oxford: Blackwell
Publishing, 2002), 73.
289
Sawyer, Alan, quoted by Silverman and Proulx, 62.
290
Silverman and Proulx, 63.
291
Reilly, Robert F., MD “Medical and surgical care during the American Civil War, 1861-1865”, US National Library
of Medicine, National Institutes of Health, Baylor University Medical Center Proceedings, Dallas, Taxes, accessed
September 2018.
105
And it came to pass that after the Lamanites had fled, I immediately gave orders
that my men who had been wounded should be taken from among the dead,
and caused that their wounds should be dressed.
And it came to pass that there were two hundred, out of my two thousand sixty,
who had fainted because of the loss of blood; nevertheless, according to the
goodness of God, and to our great astonishment, and also the joy of our whole
army, there was not one soul of them who did perish; yea, and neither was there
one soul among them who had not received many wounds. (Alma 57:24:25)
There are several other instances in the history of the Lamanite wars where Nephites were
severely wounded in battle, but survived (Alma 3:22; Alma 49:23-24; Alma 52:35).
Undoubtedly one of the reasons for the high survival rates among the Nephite wounded is that
the commanders understood the importance of receiving “immediate” treatment for wounds
(Alma 57:24). During the American Civil War doctors only learned this need for urgency as the
war progressed. “As the war went on, it was noticed that if amputation was done within 24
hours, mortality was lower than if performed after more than 48 hours.”292
Of particular interest are the battlefields wounds to the head. The Book of Mormon period
Peruvian doctors possessed advanced brain surgery techniques, which were later improved
upon by their descendants. Indeed the Incas had significantly higher survival rates for brain
operations than did the American Civil War doctors. As reported in the Smithsonian Magazine:
For the study, Tulane University bioarchaeologist John Verano, who literally
wrote the book on Inca cranial surgery, and bioarchaeologist Anne Titelbaum of
the University of Arizona teamed up with University of Miami neurologist David
Kushner to look at surgery success rates over time. With its high elevation and
dry climate, Peru is full of well-preserved ancient skulls. In fact, according to a
press release, about 800 trepanned prehistoric skulls have been found in Peru,
more than the rest of the world combined. The researchers examined the skulls,
looking at the edges of the hole. If the edge had been “remodeled,” or healed
significantly, the team considered the surgery a success. If the edge of the hole
was ragged without signs of healing, they assumed the patient didn’t survive the
surgery or died soon after.
Using that metric, they examined various periods of Peruvian trepanation. Wade
reports that over the course of 2,000 years, the Inca and their ancestors got
progressively better at skull surgery. Of the 59 skulls dated between 400 B.C.E. to
200 B.C.E. only about 40 percent of the patients’ skulls showed signs of survival.
That rate of survival increased to 53 percent in the analysis of 421 skulls found
dating between 1000 C.E. to 1400 C.E. During the Inca period, from 1400 C.E. to
1500 C.E. 75 percent to 83 percent of the 160 skulls examined showed signs of
survival.
292
Ibid.
106
During the Civil War, by comparison, the mortality rate from skull surgery was
between 46 and 56 percent. The study appears in the journal World
Neurosurgery.
“There are still many unknowns about the procedure and the individuals on
whom trepanation was performed, but the outcomes during the Civil War were
dismal compared to Incan times,” Kushner says in the release. “The question is
how did the ancient Peruvian surgeons have outcomes that far surpassed those
of surgeons during the American Civil War?”
Kushner says there are signs that the technique evolved over the centuries. The
succession of skulls shows that over time the Peruvian surgeons learned to avoid
areas of the skull that would produce excessive bleeding. They also figured out
that smaller holes were more survivable than larger holes. And most
importantly, it appears their surgeries became shallower, avoiding perforating
the dura, or the thick membrane that covers the brain. In fact, some patients
appear to have survived multiple surgeries, with one skull showing five
trepanation holes.293(3)
Of all the numerous ancient civilizations of the Americas, only the doctors of the Andes are
known to have possessed such advanced surgery technology.
A land divided by two opposing societies
It is hard to read the Book of Mormon without feeling a deep

sadness for the disharmony and hatred that existed among the
descendants of Lehi’s sons. How different it would have been if
Laman and Lemuel would have accepted the will of the Lord and
allowed their righteous younger brother to lead the family. The
feud they fostered was never resolved, and as a result, the
thousand-year history of the Nephites is one of nearly constant
warfare between the Lamanite and Nephite nations.
The Book of Mormon states that the Lamanites and Nephites were
separated by a border that ran from the sea on the east and to the
sea on the west. (Alma 22:27), and that the Lamanites were
primarily in the land to the south (Alma 22:33). In Chapter Five,
we saw why Lake Titicaca is an excellent candidate for the Book of
Mormon’s “east sea.” If this is the case, then the Lamanites would
be represented by the Aymara-speaking people who lived on the
293
Daley, Jason, “Inca Skull Surgeons Had Better Success Rates than American Civil War Doctors,” Smithsonian
Magazine, June 13, 2018, https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/inca-head-crackers-had-better-success-
rates-civil-war-surgeons-180969324/ accessed 27 July 2018.
107
southeast end of Lake Titicaca, their capital being at the city of Chiripa and later at Tiwanaku
(Tiahuanacu).
Chapter Ten will provide evidence as to why Zarahemla was most likely the ruins of what is
called today Pukara. If this is true, the Nephite people would have been the Quechua-speaking
people to the north and west of the lake, with their capital city of Zarahemla having been the
ruins of the city the archaeologists have labeled Pukara (meaning the fortress city). The Aymara
tribes or nations ruled a vast expanse of land, which included Bolivia and parts of Chile and
Argentina. The Quechua people controlled the central Andes and probably included the tribes
that eventually controlled Cuzco and the Inca Empire at the time of the Spanish conquest.
Historically the two linguistic groups have always been bitter enemies. Alan Kolata writes: “In
symbolic terms, Tiwanaku (Tiahuanacu) represented the recognized boundary marker that
delineated the fault line, or point of cleavage between two archetypal social groups.”294
A religious, ethnographic, linguistic, and cultural fault-line ran straight through the heart and
soul of the ancient Andean peoples. That heart was Lake Titicaca, and the history of the lake is
that of a broken heart. At 12,500 feet above sea level, the lake’s basin provides only limited
natural resources that had to be shared by these two competing nations. Sullivan describes the
relations: “Pucara ,Pukara/Zarahemla-, which flourished from about 200 BC until about AD 200,
constituted a rival polity of Tiahuanaco (Tiwanaku (Tiahuanacu)) {Lamanites}. The relationship
between these two cities appears to have ranged from intense competition to open hostility.
…Until its complete disappearance in the fourth century {time of the comprehensive
destruction of the Nephites}, Pucara appears to have been the main rival—perhaps the only
serious rival—of Tiahuanaco in the Titicaca basin.295
Placing the Nephites at Pukara (Zarahemla), on the northwest side of the lake between 200 BC
and AD 400 provides some interesting possible insights into the Nephite society. First, it
appears to have been a “dry” state. Within the ruins of Pukara archaeologists have found no
containers for the brewing or consumption of beer, a traditional beverage throughout Andean
history. On the Aymara {Lamanite} side of the lake, fancy decorated ceramic chicha cups have
been excavated indicating that drinking beer was a social activity.296 The evidence seems to
suggest that the Quechua-speaking people during the time of Zarahemla were a sober people
while the Aymara were heavy drinkers.
Second, Nephi discouraged his people from mixing with the Lamanites, and throughout the
Book of Mormon we see very little interaction, except for wars, between the civilizations.
Likewise the Quechua-speaking people of Pukara and the Aymara people of early Tiwanaku
(Tiahuanacu) did not mingle. For at least six hundred years the two nations lived in proximity
within the Titicaca Lake Basin. Yet with their capital cities being only ninety miles apart, not a
single piece of Aymara (Tiwanaku (Tiahuanacu)) pottery shards have ever been discovered at
294
Kolata (1), 7.
295
Sullivan, 212.
296
Klarich, Elizabeth Ana. From the Monumental to the Mundane: Defining Early Leadership Strategies at Late
Formative Pukara, Peru, Dissertation. (Santa Barbara: University of California Santa Barbara, 80, (cites: (Couture
2002; Janusek 2003a; Goldstein 1993, 2003).
108
the Pukara excavations.297 Clearly, it was not proper for the Quechua (Nephites) and an Aymara
(Lamanites) to mix.
Third, the Quechua had a centralized government located at its capital, Pukara. The Aymara
seem to have had a more Lamanite style tribal organization, which Mann describes as “Less a
centralized state than a clutch of municipalities under the common religio-cultural sway of the
center….” 298 As the two civilizations matured, we see that the Nephites maintained a
centralized government ruled by kings or chief judges. The Lamanites, on the other hand,
appear to have conducted their affairs as a loose confederation of tribes, with multiple kings or
chiefdoms (e.g., King Lamoni being a king at the same time other Lamanite kings were also
reigning, and Lamoni’s father concurrently reigning as the chief king of the Lamanites).
Fourth, the Lamanites appear to have had little respect for the Nephite religion. Sullivan points
out that the famous Thunderbolt Stela found at Tiahuanaco has been shown, thanks to the
research of Sergio Chavéz, to have been broken from its base in Arapa (then under the control
of Pukara) and transported ninety miles by raft across Lake Titicaca to Tiwanaku
(Tiahuanacu).299 In other words, during a time, victory over the Quechua (Nephites), the
Aymara (Lamanites), as a sign of supremacy, broke off a huge stone religious icon of the Pukara
temple and hauled the massive block all the way back their own capital city.
Fifth, the Quechua people on the west of the lake specialized in the maintenance of large herds
of domesticated animals—an economic system consistent with that of the Nephites in the Book
of Mormon. The Aymara, occupying the more fertile southeastern shores, like the Lamanites,
raised crops and hunted. 300
Bouyee-Cassagne reminds us that Lake Titicaca, the highest navigable lake in the world, is
unique in many ways: “as an element of Aymara {Lamanite} thought, Lake Titicaca is not merely
a specific geographical location: it is at once a centrifugal force that permits the differentiation
of the two terms in opposition and a centripetal force that ensures their mediation. In the
symbolic architecture, the taypi…is crucial to the equilibrium of the system.”301 In other words,
the blue waters of Lake Titicaca appear to have been the mediating element that periodically
allowed the two enemy nations, the Nephites and the Lamanites, to live next to each other in
an uncomfortable peace.
My book Nephi in the Promised Land documents many more evidences supporting the theory
that the remnant of the Nephites and their aligned non-Lehite tribes are the ancestors of
today’s Quechua speaking people, while the Aymara speaking people represent the
descendants of the Lamanites. Recently, I read of still another research report that seems to
297
Klarich, 46.
298
Mann, 24.
299
Sullivan, 212.
300
Kolata (1), 8.
301
Bouyee-Cassagne, T., "Urco and Uma: Aymara concepts of space." In J. Murra, N. Wachtel and J. Revel (eds.),
Anthropological History of Andean Polities (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1986), 209.
109
support the theory. A team of scientists reported that when comparing DNA of the two groups
that:
“Our data revealed high diversity values in the two populations, in agreement with other
Andean studies. The comparisons with the available literature for both sets of markers (mtDNA
& Y-chromosome) indicate that the central Andean area is relatively homogeneous. For mtDNA,
the Aymaras seemed to have been more isolated through time, maintaining their genetic
characteristics, while the Quechuas have been more permeable to the incorporation of female
foreigners and Peruvian influences…. Particular genetic characteristics presented by both
samples support a past common origin of the Altiplano populations in the ancient Aymara
territory, with independent, although related histories with Peruvian (Quechuas)
populations.302
It seems likely that Laman, Lemuel and the sons of Ishmael were the fathers of the Lamanites,
or Aymara Indians. Their original wives left with Nephi, so they took Native American women as
wives. This would mean that their mitochondria mtDNA of their mothers was more
homogeneous than the Quechua (Nephite) people whose mitochondria mtDNA had some small
traces of Hebrew mothers.
The book Nephi in the Promised Land can be ordered at Cedar Fort: http://www.cedarfort.com .
302
Gaya’-Vidal M, Moral P, Saenz-Ruales N, Gerbault P, Tomasso L, Villena M, Vasquest R, Bravi CM, Dugoujon JM, “mtDNA and
Y-chromosome diversity in Aymaras and Quechuas from Bolivia: different stories and special genetic traits of the Andean
Altiplano populations,” https://www.ncbi.nlm.gov/pubmed/21469069), March 27, 2017.
110
Yea, I make a record in the language
of my father, which consists of the learning
of the Jews and the language of the Egyptians.
1 Nephi 1:2
Chapter Seven
Remnants of an Ancient Middle East Culture
The Nephites migrated from the Middle East over two thousand years ago. Cultures, religions,
and languages evolve over time. Even so, we should be able to find faint signs that a Middle
Eastern people integrated long ago into the Andes civilizations. For example, the Lehites were
from the tribe of Manasseh, and their native language was reformed Egyptian (1 Nephi 1:2).
According to Hugh Nibley:
The tribe of Manasseh, which of all the tribes, retained the old desert ways and
was most active in the caravan trade. He [Lehi] seems to have had particularly
close ties with Sidon (for the name appears repeatedly in the Book of Mormon,
both in its Hebrew and Egyptian forms), which at that time was one of the two
harbors through which the Israelites carried on an extremely active trade with
Egypt and the West. He was proud of his knowledge of Egyptian and insisted on
his sons learning it (Mosiah 1:4).303
It would be expected then that the Nephites would have brought some elements of the
Egyptian culture with them to the promised land. Here is a brief listing of parallels between the
Egyptian and ancient Peruvian cultures that might have been introduced by Book of Mormon
people:
1. Both the ancient Egyptians and Peruvians built pyramids that contained the tombs of
their kings.
2. Egyptians and Peruvians mummified their dead.
3. The people of both ancient civilizations cultivated cotton and made their clothing from
woven cotton.
4. Both cultures made bronze mirrors,and used makeup, hair styles, elaborate jewelry. and
head dressings.304
5. The mathematics of both civilizations was based on the decimal system (based on 10).
6. At times the upper classes of both civilizations practiced the custom of elongating heads
303
Nibley, Hugh, Collected Works of Hugh Nibley, Vol. 6, Chapter 4, (Salt Lake City, Deseret Book, 46-47.
304
Stahl, Christine L., Thesis (M.A.)--California State University, Long Beach, 1993
111
7. The Egyptians and some ancient cultures of Peru worshipped the sun god.
8. The amazing architects and builders of both civilizations constructed massive stone
temples and other incredible stone monuments.
9. Overland trade was conducted by both civilizations, employing large caravans of
camelids as pack animals (camels in Egypt and llamas in Peru).
10. The fishermen of both ancient civilizations made boats of reeds.
There are two possible Book of Mormon explanations as to how elements of Egyptian culture
reached Peru. Firstly, the party of Manassehites (Lehi’s family) brought them to Peru.
Secondly, another possibility is the connection between Egypt and the Mulekites, who followed
their leader Mulek to the Promised Land. If Mulek was anything like his father, King Zedekiah,
he was probably not a righteous leader and was highly influenced by the Egyptian culture and
religion. Jeremiah referred to Zedekiah as “bad figs.” According to the Chroniclers, Zedekiah did
evil in the site of the Lord and humbled himself not before Jeremiah. During his reign men and
women gave themselves to the worship of the Babylonian goddess of love (Ishtar), as well as to
the Egyptian sun-god Ra and allowed the worship of the sacred animals of Egypt in
underground chambers. While Zedekiah was a vassal king of Babylon, he played a dangerous
political double-game with Egypt. Mulek’s father ignored Jeremiah’s warning to stop associating
with the Egyptians. Eventually, Zedekiah’s flirting with Egypt led to the destruction of
Jerusalem, the king’s captivity in Babylon, and his son Mulek’s fleeing to the Western
Hemisphere, probably by boarding ships in Egypt, the land of his family’s allies.
Hugh Nibley suggested that the Mulekites probably reached the New World by hiring the
services of Phoenician mariners. In support of this idea, Nibley pointed to Phoenician names in
the Book of Mormon, including the river Sidon that appears to have been named after the
Phoenician harbor of Sidon.305 The Egyptians were not known as open-sea mariners. Instead,
they relied on their trading partners, the Phoenicians, to haul their freight and traders.
Since coca, a plant that primarily only grows locally in the Andes areas, was used for embalming
mummies in Egypt, it has been speculated that the Phoenicians carried out a continuous trade
with ancient Peru with and on behalf of the Egyptians. Such trade could have taken place
before, during, and after Book of Mormon times, and have led to parallels between ancient
305
Nibley, Collected Works of Hugh Nibley, vol. 6, 46.
112
Egyptian and Peruvian societies. This is evidenced by the New World plants of coca and tobacco
having been found in the graves of Egyptian mummies starting in 1070 BC306
Language with Semitic roots
Of course, Lehi’s family were not Egyptians, they were Hebrews and had Arabic names. Nibley
writes:
The name of Lehi occurs only as part of a place-name in the Bible. And only
within the last twenty years a potsherd was found at Elath, where Lehi's road
from Jerusalem meets "the fountain of the Red Sea" (1 Nephi 1:9), bearing the
name of a man, LHI, very clearly written on it. Since then, Nelson Glueck has
detected the name in many compound names found inscribed on the stones of
Arabia. On a Lihyanite monument we find the name of one LHI-TN, son of Pagag,
whose name means "Lehi hath given." The LHI name is quite common in
inscriptions. Nfy and Alma are also attested, and “Mormon” may be of Hebrew,
Egyptian, or Arabic origin.307
As noted in Chapter Four, the names of Lehi, Neph,i and Sam appear in rock inscriptions
in Arabia. Alma is the name of a town in the Asir mountains in southern Arabia. Moroni
is the Arabic name of the capital of the Comoros Islands in the Indian Ocean. Then again,
there are the Book of Mormon place-names Shazer and Most Fertile Parts (Muhajarin)
that still exist in Arabia.
The Book of Mormon plates were said to have been translated from Egyptian but contained
Arabic, Chaldaic, and Assyriac characters (JS History 1:64). In comparison, Near Eastern and
Native American languages specialist Brian Stubbs cites:
…Arnold Leesburg’s work on lexical similarities between Hebrew and Quechua, the
language of the Incas of Peru. Leesburg’s lack of linguistic methodology means that
linguists ignore it. Nevertheless, a number of his “word comparisons” could feed a
competent linguistic treatment, while others may have to be discarded.
Observations of Semitic in Quechua have long interested me, and becoming aware
of Leesburg’s work added to that interest and to previous observations I had
made.308
The Peruvian native language of Quechua belongs to the three-vowel system of languages as
does classic Arabic, Aleut, Greenlandic, Sanskrit, Old Norse, and Icelandic. 309 Furthermore,
306
Sorenson, John L., “Ancient Voyages Across the Ocean to America: From ‘Impossible’ to ‘Certain,’” (Provo, Utah:
Maxwell Institute, 2005), 4,5.
307
Nibley, Collected Works of Hugh Nibley, Vol.6, Part.8, Ch.22, 290 – 291.
308
Sorenson, John, "Was There Hebrew Language In Ancient America? An interview with Brian Stubbs", (Provo,
FARMS/Maxwell Institute, BYU, JBMS, 2000), 54-63; refers to Arnold Leesburg, Comparative Philology: A
Comparison between Semitic and American Languages (Leyden: Brill, 1908).
309
http://www.compulink.co.uk/~morven/lang/vowels.html
113
Quechua is similar to Arabic in finite connectivity of its linguistic structure.310 University of
California linguist Mary LeCron Foster concluded that Quechua shows “extensive borrowing
from a Semitic language, seemingly Arabic.”311 An example of this is the Arabic word for water,
moya. The Quechua word for “pasture land,” where water would naturally collect is moya.312
On the website Ancient Hebrew Forum it reads in reference to Quechua:
Their language contains certain traits which can point to Semitic influence.
Hebrew is Semitic, derived from the larger Afro-Asiatic language family which
includes many if not all African dialects, but Quechua (Runa Simi), being
essentially a type of isolate language, has its own family tree: Quechuan
language family.
But there are a couple of grammar features which appear to have received
Semitic influence: (1) the 1st Person singular pronoun in Hebrew
is ˀănóḵî (Ancient Hebrew ˀanákî); in Quechua its ñuqa ("qh" is pronounced as a
light guttural); (2) 1st Person plural pronoun in Hebrew is (ˀă)naḥnû (Ancient
Hebrew (ˀa)naḥnû); in Quechua, the exclusive its ñuqanchik (e.g. "we but not
you" basically derived from the singular ñuqa, with added ending -nchik marking
the plural). The inclusive is ñuqayku (e.g. "we and you"), which has no tie to the
Afro-Asiatic languages; (3) unlike the Semitic languages, Quechua does not
distinguish gender in 2nd and 3rd Persons; but in Quechua, as in Semitic, the
pronominal endings for nouns in 2nd Person singular is with -k (Arabic
masculine -ka and feminine -ki, e.g. baytiki "your (fem.) house," Quechua neuter
-ki, e.g. wasiyki "your house").
Word of Similarity
Ancient Hebrew warq "pale" and Quechua yuraq "white" (Hebrew warq,
Modern yereq can also mean "pale green" or "green")313
What is even more amazing is that the very name of the sacred record, The Book of Mormon is
probably of Arabic origin. If translated, it most likely means The Book of the Believer. Believer in
what? “Another Testament of Jesus Christ.” Of course this assumption needs explaining. We
know that the main author of the Book of Mormon, the prophet Mormon, was a true believer.
In his own words he testified as to the purpose of his abridgement of the book, “And the cause I
310
Stabler, Edward P., "The Finite Connectivity of Linguistic Structure," (Los Angeles: UCLA,
www.linguistics.ucla.edu/people/stabler/eps-conn.pdf , January 2007), 5,
311
Foster, Mary LeCron of the University of California, Berkeley, in "Old World Language in the Americas: 1," an
unpublished paper read at the annual meeting of the Association of American Geographers, San Diego, 20 April
1992; and also in her "Old World Language in the Americas: 2," an unpublished paper given at the annual meeting
of the Language Origins Society, Cambridge University, September 1992; copies are in the possession of John
Sorenson and Matthew Roper, cited by Sorenson and Roper in Before DNA, Maxwell Institute for Religious Studies
312
Cobo, 266.
313
http://ancient-hebrew.proboards.com/thread/3149/qetsuah-language-incas, accessed 5 April 2018.
114
write unto you…. that ye may believe the gospel of Jesus Christ” (Mormon 3:20;21, bold
added).
Over the centuries words change the way they are pronounced, and thus the way the words are
spelled. Yet even today it is hard to distinguish how an Arab says the Arabic word for believer,
“Momen” (or Moumen) from the way English speaking person pronounces “Mormon.” But
does the word Mormon actually mean believer? Chronologically, the first use of the word
Mormon in the Book of Mormon is found in Mosiah chapter 18:
And many did believe his words. And it came to pass that as many as did believe
him did go forth to a place which was called Mormon, having received the name
from the king….” (Mosiah 18:4, bold added)
It is reasonable to assume that the king Noah gave the place that name because it is where
those who believed Alma’s testimony of Christ fled. Verse six and seven appear to confirm this
definition of Mormon:
And it came to pass that as many as believed him went thither [to Mormon,
place of the believers] to hear his words. And it came to pass after many days
there were a goodly number gathered at the place of Mormon, to hear the
words of Alma. Yea, all were gathered together that believed…(Mosiah 18:6,7,
bold added)
Why is it that only some features of Semitic languages found their way into the language of the
ancient Peruvians, yet their common language remained Quechua, not reformed Egyptian? To
understand the reason, the context of Nephite history needs to be remembered. Peru was
inhabited by a large population long before the arrival of Nephi and his brothers. Peruvian oral
traditions inform us that in ancient times four fair-skinned brothers came to Peru and taught
them how to live.314 The youngest of the four brothers was beloved by the Peruvian people and
they made him their king. The legend seems to imply that Nephi became the king over a large
indigenous people who spoke Quechua, and that the sons of Nephi became the royal family
(see Jacob 1:10,11). Nephi’s royal family continued to speak and write in a Semitic language
while the larger common population continued speaking Quechua. Eventually, some Semitic
influences were adopted into Quechua.
A similar phenomenon occurred some two thousand years later when a small party of 167
Spanish conquistadors conquered Peru. The Spanish elite continued speaking their tongue, and
the native population continued speaking Quechua, a language that now incorporates many
Spanish words.
The migration of the Nephites to the New World seems to be in harmony with this type of
linguistic evolution. Nephi was the Nephites first king, and the Nephites were an elite ruling
class that governed a larger constituency of Paleo-Indian. Further, the Book of Mormon informs
us that not all of the Nephites were destroyed in circa AD 400 (2 Nephi 3:3,23; Moroni 1:2). As
314
Sarmiento, 44.
115
will be discussed later, the oral traditions of the Incas state that they believe they were the
descendants of their earliest kings. In relating this to the Book of Mormon history, this would
seem to imply that the Inca ruling elite were the descendants of the ancient Nephite ruler.
Father Bernadé Cobo wrote:
…apart from the language of Cuzco, which is the general language {Quechua}
that the Incas introduced throughout their empire and was the one they used in
speaking to their subjects, they knew a different one, which they used only
among themselves when they dealt and conversed with those of their own
lineage…. Now the descendants of the Incas have forgotten this language,
although they still remember some words from it.315
The secret language of the Inca nobility was called Callawaya.316 The Book of Mormon implies
that the Nephite ruling class had such a private language, and it was reformed Egyptian. Jacob
recorded that a man came among the Nephites who “had a perfect knowledge of the language
of the people” (Jacob 7:4). This could be interpreted to mean that while the Nephite royals and
prophets spoke and wrote reformed Egyptian, there was another “language of the people.”
The Book of Mosiah in the Book of Mormon also refers to a private language. When Mosiah’s
people arrived in Zarahemla, at least three languages were spoken in the city state. First, the
Mulekites spoke a corrupted language that could not be understood by the Nephites (Omni
1:17). Second, there was the language of the general populace. Finally, reformed Egyptian
appears to have been the private language of the Nephite elite and the priestly class. In the first
chapter of the Book of Mosiah we learn that king Benjamin required that his three sons “should
be taught in all the language of his father, that they might become men of understanding; and
that they might know concerning the prophecies which had been spoken by the mouths of their
fathers” (Mosiah 1:2-4). Obviously, the king’s children must have grown up speaking the
common language of the Nephites, but here we are told that the king is making a special effort
to teach his sons another language, the tongue of his fathers, reformed Egyptian. Only by
understanding reformed Egyptian, could the king “read these engravings, and teach them to his
children that thereby they could teach them to their children” (Mosiah 1:2-4).
The implications seem straight-forward. The linguistic context in the Book of Mormon is similar
to what is known about the language history of the Incas. Sadly, the private language of the
Inca nobility was lost and cannot be directly compared to the characters used to write the Book
of Mormon. However, this argument would explain why fragments of the Arabic languages can
still be found in Quechua, while at the same time, Quechua or any other native American
language is not reformed Egyptian.
315
Cobo, 107.
316
McIntyre, 764.
116
Do Quechua words appear in the Book of Mormon?
We saw in Chapter Five how the word anti means east in both Quechua and the Book of
Mormon. George Reynolds and Janne Sjodahl suggested another possible linguistic parallel
between Quechua and the Book of Mormon, Mount Antipas (Alma 47:7). They cite linguist
Daniel G. Brinton as having identified a Peruvian native tribe called the Antipas, who live on the
east slopes (Amazon side) of the Andes mountains.317
Reynolds and Sjodahl reasoned that anti can also be translated into the Quechua word anta
which means copper.318 Using the same linguistic rule, the Book of Mormon city, land, or hill of
Manti (Alma 43:24-25) would be translated into Quechua as Manta. The Quechua name for the
place from which Viracocha {Christ} left Peru after his mission was called Manta.319
There are other possible applications of the Reynolds and Sjodahl linguistic key that over time
Book of Mormon words ending “i” evolved to where they were pronounced with “a”. Perhaps
these are only coincidences. The name of the Nephite King Limhi evolved to Lima, the Quechua
place name that is still used for the name of the Peruvian capital, which was originally called
Ciudad de los Reyes, or City of the Kings. Limhi could also relate to Limatambo (meaning the
“Inn of Lima”) an Inca site west of Cuzco.320The city of Lehi could become the city of Laha (Inca
town near Lake Titicaca). Anti from the Book of Mormon becomes Anta, name of a town
northwest of Cuzco.321 Onti was the Nephite word for a measure of silver (Alma 11:6).
Transpose the “i” for an “a” and you have Onta while Anta is the Quechua word for copper.
Finally, there is the story found in the Book of Second Nephi, which in Arabic would be the book
of “Dhu Nephi.” It is the story of Nephi leading his people into the wilderness and finding
himself on an island (2 Nephi 10:20). Chapter Nine will present evidence that Nephi lived for a
short period on an island in Lake Titicaca. For now, we will exchange an “a” for the “i” to form
Dhu Nepha for Second Nephi. The Inca oral tradition of Thu-nupa has several parallels to the
story of Nephi: Osborne writes: “Thunupa appeared on the Altiplano {where Lake Titicaca is
located} in ancient times, coming from the north with five disciples {Laman, Lemuel, Sam, Jacob
& Joseph}. A white man of august presence, blue-eyed, and bearded, he was sober, puritanical
and preached against drunkenness, polygamy and war.”322
Semitic literary forms in the Book of Mormon
Timothy Sedor wrote the following experience:
317
Brinton, David G, The American Race, (Philadelphia: David McKay Publisher, 1901), 278-284.
318
Reynolds, George and Janne M. Sjödahl (Philip C. Reynolds, ed.). Commentary on the Book of Mormon (7 vols.)
(Salt Lake City, Utah: Deseret News Press, 1955).
319
Urton, 36,37.
320
Hemming, 16.
321
Bauer, 73.
322
Osborne, H, South America Mythology (London: Paul Hamlyn, 1968), 87.
117
The Book of Mormon was written in what was called the Reformed Egyptian
language. It is likely that this language would later be called Arabic, an emerging
new language at the time of Nephi. For certain we know that the plates of the
Book of Mormon contain Arabic characters (Joseph Smith - History 1:64). While
many readers wonder why the Book of Mormon keeps repeating the phrase
“And it came to pass,” several years ago I learned that throughout history Arabic
authors and modern Arabic story tellers use that exact phrase “And it came to
pass.” Indeed each time Arabic story tellers want to end one part of a story and
to start another or change a subject, they use the Arabic phrase “And it came to
pass.”
It’s seemingly impossible that Joseph Smith could have known this unique
literary feature. The only possible explanation is that the Prophet was translating
a record that was written in the proper Middle Eastern style.
I recently confirmed with Arab friends what I learned years ago as I attended a
fireside in Saudi Arabia hosted by a devout Muslim. He had been a linguistics
professor at The University of Utah, and his native tongue is Arabic.
The LDS Church asked him if he would translate the Book of Mormon from
English to Arabic. The university gave him permission to do the translation on his
own time, which would be after working hours.
Since English and Arabic are from a different family of languages unlike French,
German, Spanish, etc. that could be easily translated, the difference in the two
languages became a problem. The title of the fireside was "The incompatibility of
Two Languages: English and Arabic."
He started his presentation by explaining that [in his opinion] the original
language of the Book of Mormon was Arabic, not Hebrew, as Arabic is one of the
purest of all known languages in that it never suffered major changes over the
years as Hebrew and other languages have.
He went into explaining the difference between a Western author and an Arabic
author. He said, “They are as different as night and day. The author of the Book
of Mormon was definitely an Arabic author. To make a point, no self-respecting
Western writer would have written, "River of water" as it is a redundant phrase.
However an Arabic writer would do so, for the more redundant he would write,
the more melodic his writing becomes and your Book of Mormon is the most
beautiful sounding book I have ever read."
"The phrase ‘and it came to pass," the professor said, “Is a wonderful phrase, but
have you noticed that nothing comes to pass in your Book? In Arabic, it means, I
am changing the subject."
118
He went on to tell how he managed to translate the book, which he did in the
evenings at home. When he would find a blockage and couldn't proceed, he
would turn off the lights and go to bed, only to be woken up in the middle of the
night with the answer, and he would then return and complete his translation.
We all smiled knowingly.
The translation took him a year to complete. To solve the problem of translation,
since the two languages are so different, he chose to visualize what Joseph Smith
actually saw so as to have him choose the words he translated.
The professor presented a treasure of information about the Book of Mormon

that evening. I am sorry not to have retained it in memory.
He ended the presentation with, "I know that Joseph Smith translated the plates
with divine help for there is information in the Book of Mormon that no man in
Joseph Smith’s situation and time could possibly have known without that type
of help."
An Arab friend confirmed Timothy’s experience. He read the Book of Mormon and told me
without reservation that the original language of the book is Arabic. He later obtained an Arabic
copy of the Book of Mormon and said that the book was far more poetically beautiful when
read in Arabic, “its original language.”
Richard Wellington, co-author of Lehi in the Wilderness, wrote this discussion on Chiasms.
The study of Nephi’s record reveals that it is a brilliantly engineered piece of literature, the
internal construction of which not only highlights the intellect of the man Nephi but also the
spirituality of Nephi the Prophet, whose purpose in creating this record is to bring souls to
Christ….
To briefly illustrate the intellect of the man. let us look at the structure of the first book of
Nephi. It has previously been shown how Nephi’s record is a complex piece containing
numerous parallels and chiasms. Noel B. Reynolds(1) has shown that Nephi’s record in the first
book of Nephi is composed of two parallel accounts. He calls the first part, found in chapters 1-
9, ‘Lehi’s account’ because it is Nephi’s abridgement of Lehi’s record, and the second, in first
Nephi chapters 10-22 ‘Nephi’s account’ as here he makes his own record. Each of these
individual records parallels the other in both structure and content while at the same time each
one is a chiasm within itself.323
323
Reynolds, Noel B., Book of Mormon Authorship, New Light On Ancient Origins. (Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1982).
119
At this point we need to discuss ‘what is a chiasm?’ A chiasm is a literary form which was much
used by the ancients but is almost non-existent in the English language. A piece of writing may
contain a series of elements or points arranged in specific order 1-2-3-4. If those same points
are then repeated in the text in the same order we call this a parallel, if they are repeated in the
reverse order, 4-3-2-1, it is a chiasm. A simple example in English will help to illustrate. We will
use a simple quote from Shakespeare’s Macbeth: “Fair is foul, and foul is fair.” It can be seen
how the two elements, ‘Fair’ and ‘Foul’, change order. This structure is simple. The Hebrews
took this literary form to great lengths creating chiasms of many lines. The Book of Mormon
contains large and extremely complex chiasms of many elements and layers, a feature which
points to the ancient origins of the book since Joseph Smith would not have known about
chiasm as it was not rediscovered until the mid-19th century. It was not until 1854, twenty-four
years after the first publishing of the Book of Mormon, with the publication of John Forbes’ ‘The
symmetrical structures of scripture’324, that the complicated and sophisticated nature of Biblical
chiasmus was fully appreciated. Nephi seems to have taken the structure of chiasm one stage
further by creating an entire narrative of two parallels whose respective elements form a
chiasm.
Interestingly the very reason we are able to identify the chiasms in the Book of Mormon is one
of the reasons why it does not read so easily in modern English. Chiasm in the Bible was only
discovered when the original, ancient texts were read. English translations altered the word
order sufficiently to rearrange the elements and destroy the chiasms. Joseph Smith, on the
other hand, translated the Book of Mormon line by line. This has the disadvantage of making
the passages flow less well upon reading but retains the structure. This method of translation
has seemed odd historically but with the discovery of chiasm the wisdom of the Lord now
becomes apparent since Joseph Smith did not know about chiasms in the books he was
translating. Thus when Latter-day Saints claim that the Book of Mormon was translated
correctly and is the ‘most correct’ of any book on earth, we are more ‘literally’ correct than we
often appreciate. Joseph Smith’s inspired translation of the books of Nephi provides us with all
of the information within the text, both open and hidden, at the minor inconvenience of, at
times, slightly stilted sentence structure…
New Hebrew like religion comes to the Americas
As noted earlier, archaeologists believe that a new religion based on the visitation of a bearded
white god, and including a lore that parallels that of Adam and Eve, was introduced in southern
Peru around 500 BC We know that this was roughly the same time that Nephi appointed Jacob
and Joseph to be priests and teachers of the gospel to his people (Jacob 1:17,circa 544-421 BC).
However, we can glean much more from the Inca oral traditions about their ancient religion.
Like the Pilgrims of Plymouth more than two millennia later, Lehi’s family came to the New
World as religious refugees. First and foremost they were looking for a place where they could
324
Forbes, John, “The symmetrical structure of scripture”, (Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1854), as quoted in John
Welch, “Chiasmus in the Book of Mormon”, Book of Mormon Authorship, Noel Reynolds (Salt Lake City:
Bookcraft,1982).
120
establish a homeland wherein they could worship God according to their own desires. Faith in
God was the paramount driving force in the lives of Lehi, Nephi, Jacob, and undoubtedly many
other members of the family. Thus, if they were successful in colonizing an area in the Americas
and in instituting a Christian faith, we should be able to find distance traces of that faith still
among the Amerindians of Peru at the time of the Spanish conquest. That is to say, even though
the faith of the Nephites and Lamanites was deeply corrupted by the fourth century AD, we
should still be able to find within the oral tradition of their ancestors vague hints that at some
periods their ancient religious practices were harmonious to Judeo-Christian beliefs.
When the Spanish invaded Peru, they found the Inca’s still practiced a law system similar to the
Law of Moses. For example, stealing could be punished by mutilation, and blasphemy was a
capital offense and was often carried out by stoning.325
The Books of Moses were recorded on the brass plates that the Nephites possessed in the
Promised Land (1 Nephi 5:11), and the Ten Commandments were taught among them (Mosiah
13). Pedro de Cieza de León, Miguel Cabello Valboa, Felipe Guaman Poma de Ayala, and other
chroniclers reported evidences that the South American natives performed practices and
observed laws similar to those of Israelites and Christians. Calderwood notes:
The Law of Moses and especially the observance of the Ten Commandments
appeared to be similar to religious tenets that were kept in many areas of the New
World. The punishment for breaking one of these New World “Ten Commandments”
was frequently carried out in a manner similar to the ancient Israelite customs of
meting out punishment.326
Like the Israelites, the Peruvians kept an eternal flame in their temple reminiscent of the
eternal flame of Leviticus; they stoned to death those who committed adultery, executed
murderers, severely punished thieves, prohibited homosexual practices, and taught their youth
to remain morally pure.327
When the Book of Mormon’s King Benjamin addressed his people, it must have been an
amazing scene to behold. His people had gathered from throughout the land, at least those
who could assemble together within one day. Reminiscent of Old Testament worship,
Benjamin’s people brought with them “the firstlings of their flocks, that they might offer
sacrifice and burnt offerings according to the law of Moses (Mosiah 2:3). Undoubtedly these
must have been Andean alpacas, who the Spanish referred to as “sheep.”
When the Spanish arrived they observed the Incas still sacrificing sheep (Mosiah 2:3, probably
alpacas or llamas), lambs and birds (John 2:14).328 Betanzos, recorded that the throats of the
sheep and lambs were slit in the presence of the Inca329, apparently to collect the blood or to
325
Mead, 61.
326
Calderwood, 190.
327
Calderwood, 203. 246-247, 248-250.
328
Betanzos, 161.
329
Betanzos, 168.
121
prepare the meat in a manner consistent with the Law of Moses (Leviticus 3:17). Sarmiento also
mentioned that the Incas sacrificed lambs (young llamas or alpacas)330. Apparently, the Incas
sacrificed animals in a manner similar to what the Nephites did two thousand years before.
“And they *the Nephites+ also took of the firstlings of their flocks, that they might offer sacrifice
and burnt offerings according to the Law of Moses” (Mosiah 2:3). Cieza de León noted that the
traditional Inca sacrifice required a “lamb of one color without spots”331 and that “they made
great sacrifices according to their custom. They killed many animals, whose blood they
sprinkled on the altars where there were channels to make the offering.”332
The Incas observed three main ritual events. One held during the December solstice, the
longest day of the year in the Southern Hemisphere. In one of the most authoritative texts,
Avila, refers to it as the capac hucha. During the ritual tens of thousands of llamas were
sacrificed with the blood being collected in small clay vessels and distributed throughout the
empire. There is debate over why the animals were sacrificed, but one meaning of the word
hucha is “sin”333. Perhaps the hucha ritual was reminiscent of the “sacrifice for sin” or “sin
offering” that was practiced in ancient Israel (Numbers 15:30-31, Leviticus 4:2, 22,27;5:15,17)
and by the early Nephites who understood the sin offering and made offerings in accordance
with the law of Moses (2 Nephi 2:7, Mosiah 2:3).
An Inca Legal System based on the Law of Moses
The law of Moses required the death by stoning for anyone intentionally committing blasphemy
(Lev. 24:11-16). The Incas also put to death anyone of committed blasphemy.334 The Nephite
law, at least prior to the visit of Christ to the New World, was based on the law of Moses (2
Nephi 5:10; 25:24; Jaron 1:5, Alma 30:3). The exactness by which the Nephites observed the
due process of the law of Moses can be seen in the trial of Korihor. Undoubtedly Joseph Smith
had no knowledge of such ancient legal procedures.
At first glance it might appear the Book of Mormon account of the arrest of the Anti-Christ
Korihor is an inconsistence in the Book of Mormon, when in fact it is yet another evidence of
the truthfulness of this amazing book. The story of the rise and demise of Korihor is found in
the 30th chapter of the book of Alma. The narrator begins by reminding us that the Nephite
legal system was based on the law of Moses:
Yea, and the people did observe to keep the commandments of the Lord; and
they were strict in observing the ordinances of God, according to the law of
Moses; for they were taught to keep the law of Moses until it should be fulfilled
(Alma 30:3)
The chapter also tells us that the Nephites had the legal right of freedom of religion:
330
Sarmiento, 168.
331
Cieza de León (2), 260.
332
Cieza de León (2), 274.
333
Sullivan, 307,308.
334
Mead, 61.
122
Now there was no law against a man’s belief; for it was strictly contrary to the
commands of God that there should be a law which should bring men on to
unequal grounds. For thus saith the scriptures: Choose ye this day, whom ye will
serve. Now if a man desired to serve God, it was his privilege; or rather, if he
believed in God it was his privilege to serve him; but if he did not believe in him
there was no law to punish him. (Alma 30:7-9).
Chapter 30 also informs us that the judges in the land had standard punishments that were
required for those who committed crimes and that they were delineated in the law of Moses (2
Nephi. 5:10, 24-25; Jarom 1:5, Alma 30:3):
But if he murdered he was punished unto death; and if he robbed he was also
punished; and if he stole he was also punished; and if he committed adultery he
was also punished; yea, for all this wickedness they were punished. (Alma 30:20)
Finally, before the record of Korihor’s arrest and trial are recounted the Book of Mormon states
that no Nephite could be arrested for his “belief:”
For there was a law that men should be judged according to their crimes.
Nevertheless, there was no law against a man’s belief; therefore, a man was
punished only for the crimes which he had done; there all men were on equal
grounds (Alma 30:11).
Under the protection of the law Korihor began to preach his beliefs to the Nephites:
And this Anti-Christ, whose name was Korihor, (and the law could have no hold
upon him) began to preach unto the people that there should be no Christ.
(Alma 30:11-12)
While many Nephites believe in the false doctrine of Korihor, we learn that when he preached
to the Lamanites in the land of Jershon:
They were more wise than many of the Nephites; for they took him, and bound
him, and carried him before Ammon, who was a high priest over that people.
And it came to pass that he caused that he should be carried out of the land.
And he came over into the land of Gideon, and began to preach unto them also;
and here he did not have much success, for he was taken and bound and carried
before the high priest, and also chief judge over the land” (Alma 30:21).
Is the arrest of Korihor an inconsistency in the Book of Mormon? If it was not a crime to believe
in any doctrine, why didn’t the high priest and chief judge in Gideon free Korihor? Instead, they
put him in the “hands of the officers, and sent him to the land of Zarahemla, that he might be
brought before Alma, and the chief judge who was governor over all the land.” (Alma 30:29) In
other words, the high priest in Gideon must have known that Korihor had broken a law -- but
what law?
123
It should be remembered that the high priest of Gideon only asked Korihor, “Why do ye go
about perverting the ways of the Lord? Why do ye teach this people that there shall be no
Christ, to interrupt their rejoicings?” (Alma 30:22). Both the high priest and the chief judge
witnessed that Korihor “would revile even against God” (Alma 30:29). In other words, it was not
Korihor’s doctrine or private belief that violates the law, it was his public denial of Christ and his
reviling against God that was a violation of the law of Moses. By denying the existence of God,
Korihor was committing a crime that was universally recognized by the children of Israel. Clearly
he had violated the Nephite law against blasphemy.
The LDS Bible Dictionary defines blasphemy as:
Generally denotes contemptuous speech concerning God, or concerning

something that stands in a sacred relationship toward God, such as his temple,
his law, or his prophet…. The punishment for willful and intentional blasphemy
was death by stoning (Lev. 24:11-16, cf. John 10:31-33; Acts 7:58). Blasphemy
against the Holy Ghost, which is willfully denying Christ after having received a
perfect knowledge of him from the Holy Ghost is the unforgivable sin (Matt. 12:
31-32; Mark 3:28-29; D&C 132:27).
Even today, where I live in Saudi Arabia, I can believe anything I want. There is no crime for
having a given faith; however, I can be subject to death by stoning for publicly teaching that
there is no God. We read in the book of Jarom that the Nephite law strictly prohibited
blasphemy.
And now, behold, two hundred years had passed away, and the people of Nephi
had waxed strong in the land. They observed to keep the law of Moses and the
Sabbath day holy unto the Lord. And they profaned not; neither did they
blaspheme. And the laws of the land were exceedingly strict. (Jarom 1:5).
In Korihor’s trial before Alma, we see the wisdom and mercy of Alma the great prophet and
judge. During his trial, Alma never questions Korihor about his beliefs, i.e., does he believe in
life after death or what rites does he observe. That’s because a Nephite had the right to believe
anything he wished. Alma only questions him about his public denial of God (blasphemy). While
the law of Moses required the Chief Judge of all the land to sentence Korihor to death if he was
guilty of blasphemy (Lev. 24:16), Alma appears to have given Korihor every possible opportunity
to acquit himself of having denied God. Knowing he had violated the law; Alma repeatedly
offered him the opportunity to reverse his guilty position:
“Believest thou *Korihor+ that there is a God?” (Alma 30:37), Alma asked. Again, “Will ye deny
again that there is a God, and also deny the Christ?”(Alma 30:38) This time the loving Alma
seems to plead with Korihor by sharing with him his personal witness: “For behold, I say unto
you, I know there is a God, and also that Christ shall come” (Alma 30:38).
Since Korihor was on trial for having committed a capital offense, Alma was obligated as a judge
to ask the accused to enter his evidence: “And now what evidence have ye ,Korihor+ that there
is no God, or that Christ cometh not?” (Alma 30:40) Korihor could not provide the court a
124
logical or empirical evidence, for Alma continued: “I say unto you that ye have none, save it be
your word only. (Alma 30:40).
Appropriately, Alma then enters his evidence to support the law by declaring that all things
testify of God. In reply, Korihor tempts the court by stating that he would believe in a God if
Alma showed him a sign. After all the opportunities he had given Korihor to have the charge of
blasphemy drop, Alma tries one last time to convince Korihor to stop denying God and bringing
upon himself a sure judgment that would end his life. Alma said unto him:
Thou hast had signs enough; will ye tempt your God? Will ye say, Show unto me
a sign, when ye have the testimony of all these thy brethren, and also all the
holy prophets? The scriptures are laid before thee, yea, and all things denote
there is a God; yea, even the earth, and all things that are upon the face of it,
yea, and its motion, yea, and also all the planets which move in their regular
form do witness that there is a Supreme Creator. And yet do ye go about,
leading away the hearts of this people, testifying unto them there is no God?
(Alma 30:45).
The defiant Korihor replied: “I will deny, except ye shall show me a sign” (Alma 30:45).
Thus, despite the Nephite’s right to freedom of religion, Korihor had violated the public law of
Moses forbidding blasphemy. The high priest and chief judges were properly following the law
by having him bound and brought before Alma. As the Chief Judge over all the land, Alma not
only provided Korihor evidence of his crime, but provided him several opportunities to repent
of his crimes and not be found guilty. When Alma placed the curse on Korihor, as a judge under
the law of Moses he was properly following the law, for as we see the curses appear to have
eventually led to the death of Korihor. Rather than an inconsistency in Book of Mormon, we see
that our sacred book is, to an incredible degree, completely in harmony with the law of Moses
as it is found in the Holy Bible.
Mathematics – Decimal System
The Nephites used a decimal numeric system in their mathematics. A decimal system (also
called a base 10 or denary system) has the number 10 as its base. Once a civilization adopts its
numeric system, it rarely changes the way it counts.
Since roughly 3000 BC, the Egyptians used a purely decimal system.335 The Greeks and the
Romans inherited the Egyptian decimal system, as did the Hebrews.336
On the one hand, it is safe to assume that the Nephites and Lamanites would have brought with
them to the Promised Land a numerical system with a base of 10. A possible application of this
system was when Mormon organized his armies in lots of 10,000 (see Mormon Chapter 6). On
the other hand, pre-Columbian Mesoamerican cultures such as the Maya did not use a decimal
335
Ifrah, George: From One to Zero. A Universal History of Numbers, (New York: Penguin Books, 1988), 200-213.
336
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decimal, 6. Accessed August 8, 2016.
125
system. Instead, they used a base of 20. The Pamean languages of Mexico have a base of 8
(octal system), as did the language spoken by the Yuki who were native of what today is
California.337
But what about the ancient Peruvians who in Book of Mormon times occupied what is today
Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, and parts of Chile, Columbia, Argentina, and Brazil? These ancients
spoke Quechua and Aymara. Consistent with Middle East cultures, both of these languages
have a numeric system based on 10.338
Inca’s Dressed Like the Greeks
The Nasca people of Peru lived near the Pacific shoreline

during Book of Mormon times. Helaine Silverman from
Columbia University and Donald A. Proulx from the
University of California, Berkeley studied Nasca mummies.
They found that the Nasca people wore “mantles, tunics,
turbans and turban bands, head cloths, headbands,
loincloths, slings, pads, and fringes. Although most people
probably went barefoot, leather sandals have been found in
some Nasca cemeteries.” 339 The clothes found in the
Peruvian tombs appear to be like the apparel one would
have found in an ancient Middle Eastern boutique—
complete with head cloths and headbands. Alan Sawyer
discovered that the Nasca used textile work to distinguish
status differences in Nasca society.340 Silverman and Proulx
note that Nasca Peruvian textiles included: “needle-knitting
or the cross-knit loop stitch used to produce extraordinary
three-dimensional textiles, plainweave, double cloth, gauze,
tapestry and plaiting. Plainweave textiles could be superstructurally decorated by magnificent
embroidery.”341
It is important to remember that Nephi and his family did not dress like Bedouin shepherds.
They were from the upper economic class of society and undoubtedly wore the prevailing
Greek fashions that were worn by the wealthy in Palestine of their day. Although the Incas
lived a full millennium after the Nephite Empire disappeared, the Spanish found the Inca elite
class dressed in a Hellenistic style.
Historian John Hemming described Inca clothing:
337
Avelino, Heriberto (2006). "The typology of Pame number systems and the limits of Mesoamerica as a linguistic
area" (PDF). Linguistic Typology. 10 (1): 41-60, doi:10.1515/LINGTY.2006.002.
338
Ibid.
339
340
Alan Sawyer, quoted by Silverman and Proulx, 62.
341
126
Their clothes—one suit for everyday wear, one for festivals—were constantly
darned but rarely washed. Men wore a breechclout: a piece of cloth passed
between the legs and fastened to a belt in front and behind. Above they wore a
white sleeveless tunic, a straight-sided sack with openings for the head and bear
arms, hanging down almost to the knees: this gave them the appearance of
Romans or medieval pages. Over the tunic they wore a large rectangular cloak of
brown wool, knotted across the chest or on one shoulder. The women wore a
long belted tunic, rather Grecian, hanging to the ground but slit to expose the
legs when walking…. Both sexes went barefoot or wore simple leather sandals
bound to their ankles (bold added).342
Loren McIntyre found that “in the University of San Antonio Abad, in Cuzco *the Inca’s capital
city] there is a ceramic head of an Inca warrior wearing a sling [see Mosiah 9:16] on top of his
head in a wrap-around fashion. 343 The figurine brings to mind how the Arabs wrap cords
around their heads to hold their headdresses in place.
Preserving raw meat like the desert Arabs
To this day, Arabs in southern Arabia marinate raw meat with spices and dry it in the sun. It is
likely that Nephi observed this practice and learned to preserve meat in this manner. In the
West, meat preserved this way is called “Jerky”, and the process used for making jerky in the
United States originated in Peru. The word “jerky” is derived from the Quechua word ch’arki.
Jerky is lean meat that has been trimmed of fat, cut into strips, and then dried to prevent
spoilage. Nephi documented that his family ate raw meat during their journey in the wilderness
(1 Nephi 17:2). It appears that Lehi’s family mainly
sustained itself in the wilderness by slaying animals
(1 Nephi 16:14, “wild beasts” 1 Nephi 16:30,31).
Undoubtedly, the family did not immediately eat all
the “beasts” they killed; rather they ate some and
preserved the remainder to sustain them on their
long journey in the desert. During the last part of
their journey, Nephi wrote that the Lord made their
food sweet so they didn’t need to cook it (1 Nephi
17:12). The honey bee was not native to Arabia
except in its southern countries of Yemen and
Figure 31 Jerky being dried in southern Arabia only Oman. It was during this part of the trail that
two miles from where we believe Nephi built his
ship.
Nephi commented on “sweet meat” and that in
Bountiful there was much wild honey (1 Nephi
17:,5,12). Since some varieties of jerky are marinated in honey, we can speculate that the Lord
showed the Nephites how to make their raw (dried) meat sweet and desirable by marinating it
in honey and spices. Further we know that when the family boarded their ship for the journey
to the promised land, they took with them “meat from the wilderness, and honey in
342
Hemming, 60,61.
343
McIntyre, 780.
127
abundance” which Nephi referred to as “provisions” (1 Nephi 18:6). We can speculate that Lehi
and his family, having spent eight years in the wilderness, having eaten dried meat much of the
time, and having spent a long voyage without fresh meat, acquired a taste for dried (raw)
meat. That taste also seems to have continued after they arrived in Peru and introduced the
meat preservation method of “ch’arki” or jerky.
Mummification
More mummies have been discovered in Peru than anywhere else in the world, including Egypt.
Particular care was made when mummifying their kings. If Nephi was the first of the ancient
Inca kings, it might seem strange to Latter-day Saints that Nephi's body would have been
mummified. Rather than odd, it serves as a further witness that the Book of Mormon account is
in perfect historical harmony.
Nephi was from the house of Joseph of Egypt (1 Nephi 5:16) and the tribe of his son Manasseh.
Unlike the other tribes of Israel, the tribes of Manasseh and Ephraim had roots in the royal
court of Egypt. When Israel died, Joseph ordered that the Egyptian physicians embalm his
father, a mummification process that took forty days (Genesis 50:1-3). Of Joseph’s death, The
Torah states, “Joseph died at the age of one hundred and ten years; and he was embalmed and
placed in a coffin in Egypt.” Thus, Joseph was mummified and his body was not buried in the
ground, but placed in a sarcophagus.
When the children of Israel left Egypt, they took only the bones of Joseph (Exodus 13:19), but
not the remains of the other eleven patriarchs. This implies that Joseph, second in command of
all Egypt, was the only son of Israel that was mummified. Did this family tradition get passed
down to Lehi’s family?
Whether the Lehites mummified their dead or not, the practice existed in Peru well before the
sixth century BC,344 and it might have Jaredite associations. It would seem natural then than
when Nephi died, his own family and the natives over which he ruled would desire to practice
the Egyptian and Peruvian tradition of mummifying their dead.
As noted earlier, coca, a plant that only grows in the Andes areas, was used for embalming
mummies in ancient Egypt. The Egyptians also used tobacco in the embalming process.
Equally startling has been the discovery of the same drugs in Peruvian mummies
that date back to at least AD 100. Chemical analysis revealed the use of tobacco
and coca (not surprisingly, since the former was widely used in the Americas and
the latter comes from the South American plant Erythroxylon novagranatense,
commonly known as coca). But hashish was also used in Peru, although it is from
Asian Cannabis sativa. Furthermore, two species of beetles that infested
344
Bauer, 160.
128
Egyptian mummies –Alphitobius Disperinus and Stegobium paniceum—have also
been found in mummies in Peru.345
Burying of Children
One of the most emotional discoveries I ever made happened on a winter’s morning in 2008.
My friends and I were exploring in the desert of eastern Arabia and we came upon a Dilmun
period tomb (2000 – 1500 BC). Near the base of the tomb, I noticed what I thought was a piece
of a ceramic pot lying on the ground near the tomb. As I bent down to pick it up, I realized that
beneath the sand and rocks, was an entire pot, not just a large shard. I uncovered the pot, and
found within its protective shell the bones of a small child. I donated the ceramic pot to a
private museum in Saudi Arabia. Later I learned that it had been a common practice in the
Middle East to bury small children inside large earthenware pots.
Two thoughts entered my mind as I held the funeral pottery in my arms. First, I knew from my
mission days in Peru that the ancient Peruvians cared for the bodies of their small children in
the exact same way. The ancient Peruvians also had the tradition of burying their deceased
young children in large ceramic pots.
Second, I was deeply touched by the careful entombing the ancients took to preserve the
remains of their dead children. They must have cherished their little ones and felt the need to
send them back to their God in as respectful a way as they had available to them.
Arabian style tents
Lehi’s family brought Middle Eastern style tents with them to the promised land (1 Nephi
18:23). It is reasonable to assume that the Nephite tents would have resembled the traditional
tents of the Middle East, large family size dwellings where one side is left open during the day,
and then closed at night. The Book of Mormon explains that the Nephite tents were arranged in
the following manner:
“And it came to pass that when they

came up to the temple, they pitched
their tents around about, every man
according to his family, consisting of his
wife, and his sons, and his daughters,
and their sons, and their daughters, from
the eldest down to the youngest, every
family being separate one from another
“(Mosiah 2:5).
Before recent time, this is the exact

pattern Middle East villages and towns
are settled. A father would build his
345
Sorenson, “Anicent Voyages Across the Ocean to America,” 4,5.
129
house, then add houses behind his for each of his sons and daughters, starting with the eldest
son, then the next son, and finally the daughters.
We read in the book of Mosiah, that the people of Zarahemla “pitched their tents around about
the temple, every man having his tent with the door thereof towards the temple, that hereby
they might remain in their tents and hear the words which king Benjamin should speak unto
them” (Mosiah 2:6).
There were no domesticated goats in the Americas during Book of Mormon times. Rather than
seeing the black goat-hair tents of the Middle East, king Benjamin probably saw white tents
made from cotton or wool from alpacas or lamas. One of the earliest accounts of the Spanish
conquest of Peru notes that when Pizarro’s conquistadors first saw the great Inca army under
the command of Atahualpa they saw, “house with trees, reportedly where Atahualpa was
staying, and ‘around this house on every side for a distance of more than a half league [1 ½
miles+ the ground was covered with white tents.’”346
To have written the Book of Mormon, the farm boy Joseph Smith, with no formal education,
would needed to have been an expert on Middle East cultures, languages and beliefs, and
likewise have been an expert aspects of ancient Andean civilizations. But that’s only the
beginning. He would have been the only person alive in his day who understood the influence
the Middle East had on ancient Peru.
The book Nephi in the Promised Land can be ordered at Cedar Fort: http://www.cedarfort.com.
346
Stanish, Charles, Ancient Titicaca, (Berkeley: U.C. Press, Berkeley, 259, quoting Sinclair), 29-30.
130
And after we had journeyed for the space of many days
we did pitch our tents. And my people would that we
should call the name of the place Nephi…. 2 Nephi 5:5,6
Chapter Eight
Cuzco, a Candidate for the City of Nephi
As their ancestors before them in the land of Jerusalem, the Nephites lived in buildings (2 Nephi
5:15). They did not live on top of mounds or in tents. They lived in permanent walled
settlements with royal palaces, legal courts, gardens, fortresses and temples. Nephite cities
were sophisticated and interconnected by a vast system of highways. In the next five chapters I
will present qualified candidates for major Book of Mormon cities:
Cuzco Late Formative Period (500 BC to AD 200 - candidate for city of Nephi), Puraka (500 BC to
AD 400 - candidate for Zarahemla), Taraco (765 BC to 90 BC - candidate for the city of
Jacobugath), Nasca 1 (150 BC to 100 AD - candidate for city of Bountiful), and Tambo Viejo (55
BC to +/- 60 - candidate for the city of Mulek). For more details on how their locations match
the geography described in the Book of Mormon refer to my book, Nephi in the Promised Land.
131
The Peruvian oral tradition that the first Incas were four fair-skinned brothers explains that the
youngest was kind and loved by the natives and became their king. His Inca name was Manco
Capac; however, as documented in my book Nephi in the Promised Land, undoubtedly his
Hebrew name was Nephi. McIntyre writes for the National Geographic: “From the waters of
Titicaca” According to one Inca origin legend—Manco Capac {Nephi}, the first Inca, and his
sister-wife, Mama Ocllo, emerged after their creation by the sun. The couple wandered with a
golden staff until they found a fertile valley where it sank easily into the earth. There they
founded Cuzco {City of Nephi}, which means “navel” in Quechua and ‘richest of the rich’ in the
secret Callaway tongue {private language of Incas}. Both meanings fit the great religious and
political center of the empire, its temples laden with gold, its warehouses bulging with weapons
and clothing.”347 From what is known about pre-Columbian Cuzco, it is easy to understand why
it was known as the “richest of the rich.” The Lord promised Nephi, “ye shall prosper, and shall
be led to a land of promise; yea, even a land which I have prepared for you; yea, a land which is
choice above all other lands” (1 Nephi 2:20). Of course Nephi was faithful, and through hard
work and province, the Nephites did “prosper exceedingly” (2 Nephi 5:13).
Cieza de León recorded:
In the month of October of the year of the Lord fifteen hundred and thirty-four
the Spanish entered the City of Cuzco, head of the great empire of the Incas,
where their court was as well as the solemn Temple of the Sun and their greatest
marvels.
Although treasure for Atahualpa’s ransom was taken *from Cuzco] to Cajamarca,
and Quizquiz [Inca general] robbed what has already been related, and even
though the Indians thought of destroying it and took a great deal, it did not seem
to make a dent in how much remained. It was a marvelous thing and worthy of
contemplating because no loot equaled this one, nor in all the Indies was there
found such wealth. Neither a Christian nor a pagan prince has or possessed such
a wealthy region as the one where this famous city was founded. The high priest
abandoned the temple, where [the Spanish] plundered the garden of gold and
the sheep and shepherds of this metal along with so much silver that it is
unbelievable, and precious stones which, if they were collected, would be worth
a city.
Indeed, when the Spaniards entered and opened the doors of the houses, in
some they found heaps of very heavy and splendid gold pieces, in others large
silver vessels. It irritated them to see so much gold. Many left it, scoffing at it,
not wanting to take more than some delicate and fine little jewels for their
Indian women. Others found beads, feathers, gold ingots, and silver in bullion;
indeed, the city was full of treasures. In the fortress, the royal house of the Sun,
347
McIntyre, 764.
132
they found unseen and unheard of grandeur because the kings had deposits
there of all the things that can be imagined and thought about.348
Anthropologist Bauer writes of Cuzco: “Within the city, spectacular elite and religious buildings
expanded to fill the entire area between the two rivers, and a large plaza capable of holding
thousands of people was built.”349 Sancho arrived five months after the first three Spaniards
entered Cuzco:
The city of Cuzco is the principal one of all those where the lords of this land had
their residence; it is so large and so beautiful that it would be worthy of
admiration even in Spain; and it is full of the palaces of the lords, because no
poor people live there, and each lord builds there his house, and all the caciques
do likewise, although the latter do not dwell there continuously. The greater part
of these houses are of stone, and others have half the façade of stone. There are
many houses of adobe, and they are all arranged in very good order. The streets
are laid out at right angles, they are very straight, and are paved, and down the
middle runs a gutter for water lined with stone.350
Cuzco was a city primarily built from ashlar stone. The Incas’ beautiful stonework, considered
the finest in the ancient world, can still be seen today because of its unique earthquake
resistant design. Cobo was in Cuzco in 1653 and wrote of the Inca masonry:
…an entire section of a wall that still remains in the city of Cuzco, in the Convent
of Santa Catalina. These walls were not made vertical, but slightly inclined
inward. The stones are perfectly squared, but in such a way that they come to
have the same shape and workmanship as a stone for a ring of that sort that
jewelers call “faceted.” The stones have two sets of faces and corners, so that a
groove is formed between the lesser faces of the fitted stones, separating the
faces in relief. Another skillfully made feature of this work is that all the stones
are not of the same size, but the stones of each course are uniform in size, and
the stones are progressively smaller as they get higher. Thus the stones of the
second course are smaller than those of the first, and the stones of the third
course are also smaller than those of the second, and in this way the size of the
stones diminishes proportionately as the wall become higher. Thus the above-
mentioned wall of the structure, which remains standing to this day, has a lower
course of ashlar blocks of more than one cubit in diameter, while the stones of
the upper course are the size of azulejos [ornamental tile]. This wall is two or
three estados high. It is the most skillfully made of all the Inca structures that I
have seen. We said that the Indians did not use mortar in these buildings, that all
of them were made of dry stone…But this does not mean that the stones were
348
Cieza de Léon (2), 317-319.
349
Bauer, 106 (quoting Garcilaso de la Vega 1966: 417-430 [1609: Pt. 1, Bk. 7, Chs. 8-11]).
350
Bauer, 110 (cities (Sancho 1971: 153-154 [1534])).
133
not joined together on the inside with some type of mortar; in fact it was used to
fill up space and made the stones fit.351
Of course, the Spanish did not enter Cuzco to admire it, but to loot it. Cuzco had already been
looted once by the Spanish when Sancho recorded the second plundering: “Truly it was a thing
worthy to be seen, this house where the melting took place, all full of so much gold in plates of
eight and ten pounds each, and in vessels, and vases and pieces of various forms with which the
lords of the land were served, and among other very slightly things were four sheep in fine gold
and very large, and ten or twelve figures of women of the size of the women of that land, all of
fine gold and as beautiful and well-made as if they were alive.”352
One of the most amazing sights the Spanish saw in Cuzco was its huge plaza, a portion of which
makes up today’s large Plaza de Armas in central Cuzco. Out of reverence to Viracocha (Christ)
who left Peru by sea, the Inca covered the entire plaza in two and a half feet of beach sand that
they hauled over the Andes Mountains from the Pacific. Polo de Ondegardo stated in 1559
“...because the plaza is large and the number of loads [of sand] brought into it was
countless.”353 Within the sand floor of the plaza were buried many gold and silver vases and
tiny figures of llamas and men.
Of course, the Cuzco the Spanish found would have been quite different from the valley Manco
Capac (Nephi) would have looked on for the first time. In his day, the Cuzco Valley must have
been unblemished, with large forests, wild animals, and villagers who lived a primitive lifestyle.
Garcilaso de la Vega witnessed the deforestation of the valley by the Spaniards. In 1604 he
wrote: “I remember that the valley of Cuzco used to be adorned with innumerable trees of this
valuable variety, but within the space of a very few years it was almost stripped of them, the
reason being that they provide excellent charcoal for braziers.”354 Bauer writes: “Perhaps the
largest concentration of forest lay to the north-west of Cuzco, in a vast and rolling area
between the city and the slope of Huaynacorcor. Based on the large number of projectile points
found during our survey work in these hills, it seems that the northwestern end of the valley
continued to be a favored hunting region throughout prehistory. This remained true even in
Inca times, as we know that the Inca maintained a royal hunting lodge there.”355 Betanzos
recorded: “In the place and site which is called today the great city of Cuzco in the province of
Peru, in ancient times, before there were any lord orejones, Inca Capacuna, as they called their
kings, there was a small town of about thirty small, humble straw houses.”356
Archaeologists have classified the period ca. 1500-500 BC in the Cuzco Valley (the period just
prior to the Nephite Age) as the Middle Formative Period. Bauer states of this prehistoric age:
“The Middle Formative Phase in the valley is represented by a series of undifferentiated
351
Bauer, 129-130.
352
Bauer, 110.
353
Bauer, 114,
354
de la Vega, Garcilaso, Royal commentaries of the Incas and general history of Peru, part 1, translated by Harold
V. Livermore, (Austin: University of Texas, University Press, 1966), 504.
355
Bauer, 7.
356
Betanzos, 13.
134
settlements, which began as hamlets and grew increasingly large through time. We can
speculate that these villages would have had leaders (so-called Big Men), whose positions of
authority were highly unstable.”357 The architecture during that time was basic—“although
some adobe walls were identified, no large architectural features that could be classified as
public works were found…. While each village…was likely relatively self-sufficient, each
developed its own local specialties, as the restriction accompanying [sedentariness] limited
direct or easy access to resources…. No direct evidence was found to indicate social
stratification or craft specialization based on principles other than age and sex.”358
The Settling of the Cuzco Valley
When the first Inca king Manco Capac, who I believe was Nephi, first arrived at the Cusco
Valley, he formed two gold plates and wore them as he stood above the Cuzco valley; thus
causing the people in the valley to believe that he should be their king. On entering the valley
where Manco Capac decided to build the city of Cuzco a tragedy occurred. Bauer writes, “When
Manco Capac and his companions finally reached the place that would become the center of
the city of Cuzco, the plaza of Huanaypata, Ayar Auca {Sam} was transformed into a stone
pillar.359 Auca’s demise would indicate that Sam must have died shortly after the founding of
the city of Nephi. This left only Manco Capac (Nephi), his four sisters and the boy Cinchi Roca
(Nephi’s son) to build the city of Cuzco.360 In comparing the Inca lore to the Book of Mormon
account, we find that from the time Nephi separates from his older brothers, the Book of
Mormon never again mentions Laman, Lemuel, or Sam.
After long years of wandering without a permanent home, it seems that Nephi wasted no time
in turning his vision of a new righteous society into a reality. Nephi provided this brief synopsis:
We did observe to keep the judgments, and the statutes, and the
commandments of the Lord in all things, according to the law of Moses. And the
Lord was with us; and we did prosper exceedingly; for we did sow seeds, and we
did reap again in abundance. And we began to raise flocks, and herds, and
animals of every kind….we began to prosper exceedingly, and to multiply in the
land… I did teach my people to build buildings, and to work in all manner of
wood, and of iron, and of copper, and of brass, and of steel, and of gold, and of
silver, and of precious ores, which were in great abundance. (2 Nephi 5:10-15)
The Seeds They Sowed
As previously noted, Manco Capac has been credited with the introduction of maize into the
Cuzco Valley in the sixth century BC. Nephi reported planting seeds in the land of Nephi, but no
longer specifies that the seeds are from Jerusalem. A possible scenario is that Nephi brought to
Cuzco maize from the Island of the Sun in Lake Titicaca or from the cave at Tambo.
357
Bauer, 40.
358
Bauer, 41.
359
Urton, 51.
360
Urton, 51.
135
The Nephites would not have used the common Quechua words for quinoa (Chenopodium
quinoa from which bread is made) and tarwi (Lupinus mutabilis Sweet, a grain legume) to
describe these New World grains. On the golden plates of the Book of Mormon, they would
have used reformed Egyptian grain names for these plants on the golden plates. Furthermore,
the Nephites had no word for potatoes and other South American tubers, since these did not
exist in Egypt. These native high Andes crops could easily have been the crops harvested in
Zarahemla: “even with all manner of seeds, with seeds of corn, and of wheat, and of barley, and
with neas, and with sheum…” (Mosiah 9:6-9).
Nephite Flocks and Herds
Bauer notes of Cuzco in the Late Formative Period (500 BC to AD 200): “great quantities of
llama bones show that they kept large numbers of domestic animals. Pottery is well made and
abundant, and a high percentage of decorated ware is found in the refuse.”361 He explains:
Agricultural intensification continued during the Late Formative Phase, and we

know that quinoa, beans, and presumably potatoes held critical roles in the local
economy. It is clear, however, that maize also played a part in the Late Formative
diet. Maize pollen, dating to 500 BC has been recovered…. Camelid herds would
also have been kept in the upper elevations of the valley during this era. As in
earlier times, these herds met a wide variety of needs for the people, including
food, wool production, and beasts of burden. Nevertheless, deer hunting still
continued throughout this period as well.362
Building a City of Fine Buildings
Cobo provides this description of the transformation made by Manco Capac and his wife:
They divided up in that valley, the prince {Nephi still not anointed king} on the
one hand and the princess {his wife} on the other, in order to call together its
inhabitants and win them over with reasoning and benefits. The prince and the
princess let it be known that they were children of the Sun {Viracocha/Christ},
sent to provide the people with instructions and benefits. The barbarians, who
saw how well dressed and adorned they were, with clothing so different from
their own, started to respect them, and on the advice and orders of these
children of the Sun {Viracocha/Christ}, the barbarians called one another
together; and with the skills that the Incas {Nephites} gave them, they built
houses on the site where the city stands today, and it was divided into two
barrios: one with the people who were attracted by the prince, and the other
with those who were brought together by the princess; the former was called
Hanan Cuzco and the latter Hurin Cuzco, meaning “Upper Cuzco” and “Lower
361
Bauer, 41.
362
Bauer, 44.
136
Cuzco”; and this was the feeble beginning of the city of Cuzco and the empire of
the Incas.363
Transforming Life in the Land of Nephi
After so many journeys in the wilderness, the Nephites finally

had a homeland where they could build a city and a society
where, by living the commandments, the people
“prosper[ed] exceedingly” and where precious metals were
found in abundance. Years later, Jacob wrote of the Nephites
continuing to have an abundance of silver, gold, and all
manner of precious ores (Jacob 2:12).
The Nephites were known for the “costliness” of their

apparel (Jacob 2:13; Alma 1:6; 4:6; 5:53; 31:28; 4 Nephi 1:24;
Mormon 8:36). The clothing worn by the Inca nobility was
perhaps the finest in the ancient world. The quality of Inca
weaving was amazing. Cobo informs us that the Inca
king:…wore a cloak and a shirt, with ojotas [sandals or shoes]
on his feet; in this respect he followed the custom of the
common people, but his clothing was different from the
usual in that it was made of the finest wool and the best
cloth that was woven in his whole kingdom, with more brilliant colors and finer-quality
weaving. The mamaconas (virgins of the Sun) made this clothing for him, and most of it was
made from vicuña, which is almost as fine as silk…other clothing was very colorful and showy
with very small feathers woven into it, and other clothing was covered with ornaments of gold,
emeralds, and other precious stones; this was the finest formal attire and corresponds to our
embroidery, cloth of gold or silver, and brocades.
...a Spaniard touched his cloak, and, noticed that it was softer than silk, he asked him
what his clothes were made of; the Inca responded that they were made from some
birds that fly about at night…bat wool.364
Hostilities against the City of Nephi
While building the city, Nephi reports of having to forge swords to prevent his people from
being destroyed by the Lamanites (2 Nephi 5:14). The Lamanites lived within eyesight of the city
of Nephi (Mosiah 20:8) and seem to have lived just south of the city, for when they attacked
the Nephites, they “had come up” or north (Mosiah 20:9) to the city. Clements Markham writes
that a tribe of Indians called Ayamarcas—a similar name to Aymara-speaking (Lamanite)
enemies of the Quechua speaking Incas—“seem to have occupied the country about 15 miles
S.S.W. of Cuzco.”365 If the Ayamarcas were Aymara-speaking, this would tell us where the
363
Cobo, 106.
364
Cobo, 245.
365
Sarmiento, 73 (footnote 2).
137
descendants of Laman initially settled. Having enemies so close to the city would be consistent
with the hostilities Nephi reported. Sarmiento writes of one incident between the two groups:
“When the Ayamarcas saw that the Huayllacans *from Cuzco+ had broken their word, they were
furious and declared war, considering them as enemies. War was carried on, the Huayllacans
defending themselves and also attacking the Ayamarcas, both sides committing cruelties,
inflicting deaths and losses, and causing great injury to each other….both sides saw that they
were destroying each other and agreed to come to terms to avoid further injury.” 366
Nephi Builds a Great Temple
The most impressive building in ancient Peru was the main

temple in Cuzco. We can safely assume that the same was
true in the city of Nephi. “I, Nephi, did build a temple; and I
did construct it after the manner of the temple of Solomon
save it were not built of so many precious things; for they
were not to be found upon the land, wherefore, it could not
be built like unto Solomon’s temple. But the manner of the
construction was like unto the temple of Solomon; and the
workmanship thereof was exceedingly fine” (2 Nephi 5:16).
According to legend, Manco Capac first settled in the Cuzco

Valley at a place called Catitampucancha, a small square in
Inca times, which today is found inside the monastery of
Santo Domingo in the city of Cuzco.367 On this site Manco
Capac built a great temple, which was remodeled several
times until its final rebuilding by the Inca Empire a few
decades before the Spaniards arrived.368 Bauer notes: “At the
center of the city stood the Coricancha (Golden Enclosure) or
Figure 32 Ruin of the great Coricancha what the Spaniards referred {incorrectly} to as the Templo del
Temple at Cuzco. Sol (Temple of the Sun).”369 Cobo wrote:
He [Manco Capac] selected for this a very spacious and prominent site, and on it he
started to build the great temple of Coricancha; it was not such a magnificent edifice
as it later became, but of humble and crude workmanship with adobe walls. This is
because in that unrefined period the technique of stonework that their successors
achieved later had not been seen or used. Thus, this Inca only began the magnificent
temple of the Coricancha (which means “golden house”), and the other kings who
succeeded him raised it up to the magnificence and loftiness it had attained when
the Spaniards found it.370
366
Sarmiento, 73.
367
Bauer,155.
368
Bauer, 157.
369
Bauer, 3.
370
Cobo, 110.
138
The Sacred Center of the Inca Universe
Bauer described the temple of the later Inca Empire: “This great sanctuary ,Nephi’s temple- was
located on a slight rise {temple mount} in the heart of Cuzco, near the confluence of the two
small, canalized rivers that flow through the city. It was built out of the exquisitely cut stone
blocks for which the Inca are justifiably famous…. The Coricancha was actually a series of
buildings and courtyards surrounded by a large exterior wall.”371 From a distance similar to that
which the Mormon pioneers had to transport the stones quarried for the Salt Lake Temple, the
blocks for the “Golden House or Golden Enclosure” were brought from the quarry of Rumicolca
some 21 miles away.372
Starting at the magnificent temple complex, the Incas addressed the location of every street,
village, city, province, and quarter of the kingdom. Bauer explains: “The importance of the
Coricancha ,Nephi’s original temple- cannot be underestimated. The Inca Empire was seen as
being composed of four great geopolitical quarters that radiated out from this complex. For the
Inca, the Coricancha marked the central and most sacred spot in the universe.”373
The Inca temple was aligned along the cardinal points and the celestial bodies. Due east of the
temple, at the equinox, was mountain Pachatusan with a pillar for measuring space-time.374 A
“ray” or road “ran due east” from the Temple of the Sun to the mountain Pachatusan, the
“support pillar of space-time,” that was used to observe the fall and spring equinox.375 “The
high altar was at the east end,”376 and the gold-plated sides of the Inca temple faced the rising
sun to the east.
Joseph Fielding McConkie notes “It should not go unnoticed that the [temple] gate was always
to be located on the east side of the tabernacle. The first of the sun’s rays would always point
themselves to it. This heavenly light would thus reveal the beauty of the multicolored gate as
the light of heaven reveals Christ as ‘the way, the truth, and the life’…the orientation of the East
Gate of the Temple of Jerusalem was such that on the days of the spring and fall equinoxes the
first rays of the rising sun, heralding the advent of the glory of God, could penetrate into the
Holy of Holies. Joseph Smith said that the coming of the Son of Man will be as the light of the
morning coming out of the east.”377
The Coricancha temple was sacred and holy, and only people who had properly prepared
themselves could enter its single gate. When the Spanish entered the gate they desecrated the
temple. “The Christians went to the buildings and, with no aid from the Indians, who did not
want to help, saying that it was a building of the Sun and they would die.”378 One of Pizarro’s
371
Bauer, 139.
372
Bauer, 157.
373
Bauer, 157.
374
Sullivan, 297.
375
Sullivan, 297.
376
Bauer, 149.
377
McConkie, Joseph Fielding, Gospel Symbolism, (Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1985) 102-103.
378
Bauer, 143.
139
foot soldiers reported: “We entered the Houses of the Sun and the Villac Uma, who was like a
priest in their religion, said, ‘How did you enter; anyone who enters must fast for a year first
and must carry a load and be barefoot.’”379
The Temple Treasure
The Cuzco temple that the Spanish destroyed was something the world had not seen before or
afterwards. Its decorations were perhaps the most costly of any building built up to that time. It
was a wonder of the world with its wall sheathed in pure gold on the side where the sun rose
and of gold alloy on the other.380 The very name of the temple, “Golden Enclosure” or “house of
gold” was given because of the incredible wealth of gold that was embedded in the temple’s
chapels and its walls, from ceilings to floors. It contained an altar of pure gold and like
Solomon’s temple a large fountain in its courtyard.381 However, unlike the temple in Jerusalem,
with its brazen sea font, the fountain of the Cuzco temple was cast in gold. The temple featured
a life-sized gold statue of the Viracocha (Christ).382
Although the Indians are believed to have hidden most of the gold of the temple from the
conquistadors, the amount of gold looted by the Spaniards from the Cuzco temple is
remarkable. Francisco de Xerez, the secretary of Francisco Pizarro, provides us this accounting
of the first of several shipments of treasure from the temple. He wrote in 1534:
[They saw] a house in Cuzco plated with gold. The house is very well made and
square and measures three hundred and fifty paces from corner to corner. {The
Spanish used Roman Pace, passus, 4.57 feet.} They removed seven hundreds of
these gold plates from the house that in all weighed five hundred pesos [roughly
5 pounds each]. And from another house the Indians removed a total of two
hundred pesos, but because it was of very low (quality), having (only) seven or
eight karats, they did not accept it. They did not see more than these two plated
houses, because the Indians did not allow them to see the whole city….
All this gold arrived in one hundred and seventy-eight loads, with four Indians
carrying each load in a litter. They brought very little silver.383
According to Bauer, “The Coricancha contained many of the finest gold and silver objects of the
empire,384” including “a seat of very fine gold385”, and perhaps as many as 2,800 sheets of
lesser-quality gold that covered parts of the complex.386 The lesser-quality sheets were a
composite of gold and copper. The artistic traditions of Cuzco and that fact that Peru was the
only place in the New World that had such metallurgic skills during the second century BC,
379
Bauer, 146.
380
Bauer, 143.
381
Bauer, 143.
382
Bauer, 139.
383
Bauer, 144.
384
Bauer, 144.
385
Bauer, 145.
386
Bauer, 145.
140
provides a remarkable comparison to the architects in the city of Nephi who “built many
elegant and spacious buildings; and he [king Noah] ornamented them with fine work of wood,
and of all manner of precious things, of gold, and of silver, and of iron, and of brass, and of ziff,
and of copper…And he also caused that his workmen should work all manner of fine work
within the walls of the temple, of fine wood, and of copper, and of brass. And the seats which
were set apart for the high priests…he did ornament with pure gold (Mosiah 11:8,10,11).
Who Helped Manco Capac (Nephi) Build the Original Temple at Cuzco?
Once Manco Capac (Nephi) and Ayar Auca (Sam) entered the Cuzco valley, they started building
a house or temple. Betanzos recorded the legend:
Manco Capac and his companion, with the help of the four women, made a house
{temple} there without allowing the people of Alcavicca {primitive natives, the
people} to help, even though these people wanted to. The two of them {Nephi and
Sam} and the four women stayed in the house. Having done this, Manco Capac and
his companion, with the four women, planted some land with maize.387
In other words, it appears that Manco Capac (Nephi) did not allow natives (non-Hebrews) to
help build the temple, even though they wanted to. Furthermore, and as we might expect of
Nephi or of Brigham Young, the Manco Capac started building the temple even before he
taught the people how to plant corn.
Manco Capac’s reverence for the temple does not seem to have been shared by later Incas.
When the Spanish arrived, they found the icons of other gods in the temple. It should be
remembered that the later Incas tried to consolidate their military conquest by plundering the
pagan gods of those they conquered and having them forcefully brought to the temple in
Cuzco. 388 Thus, the temple at the time of the conquest housed idols from other religions. In a
similar fashion, in times of unrighteousness, the temple in Jerusalem housed pagan gods, e.g.,
the image of the Babylonian goddess Ishtar and at other times the gods of the invading
Romans.
When the Spaniards first set their eyes on the temple in Cuzco, it had been over a thousand
years since the fall of the Nephites and the last known record of priesthood authority and
temple keys. Without question, the religion the Spanish found the Incas practicing was far
removed from the faith the Nephites practiced over a thousand years earlier. Over the
centuries, many idols and superstitions worked their way into the Inca religion, in the same
manner and over roughly the same time period as the Christian apostasy. When the priests
melted down the golden idols in the temple at Cuzco, they replaced them with less valuable
idols of Christian saints.
387
Betanzos, 16.
388
Mosley, 74-79.
141
Rooms of the Cuzco Temple
Cieza de León stated [1553] that “within the {temple} complex were four structures of central
importance. The gateways and doors as well as many other parts of these structures were
covered with sheets of gold….” He also indicates that there were “two benches {altars} along an
east-facing wall, upon which the light of the rising sun fell.”389 Leading into the temple’s interior
patio were twelve doorways.390
Michael Mosley explains, “Cuzco’s most extraordinary temple, the Coricancha ,Golden
Enclosure}, was located in the puma’s tail ,Cuzco was laid out in shape of a puma-. It was a
grand cancha [building] with a single entry, enclosing six wasi-like chambers arranged around a
square courtyard. One chamber, richly bedecked with gold, was dedicated to the sun {compare
to “celestial,” see 1 Corinthians 15:40-41; D&C 76:70- and held Inti’s image; a second
,chamber-, clad in silver, belonged to the moon ,compare to “terrestrial,” D&C 76:71- and held
her image. Other structures contained images or symbols of Viracocha {Christ}, Ittapa the lord
of thunder, Cuichu the rainbow, and various celestial bodies” ,compare to “telestial,” D&C
76:109}.391 Rooms associated with the sun, moon, and celestial bodies compare well to the
rooms found in early Latter-day Saint temples.
The Cuzco Temple or Golden Enclosure was dedicated to the sun god. If it was once a House of
the Lord, why would the fifteenth-century-AD Incas have dedicated it to an idol? Of course the
Incas had long since lost the correct concepts associated with the religion of Jesus Christ.
However, we should not then be too surprised that it was only a century prior to the arrival of
the Spanish that the Incas started worshiping the image of the sun. But just what did the image
of the sun actually represent to the Incas?
Bauer noted, “Various early colonial writers state that the image {of their Sun god} was in the
image of a man.”392 Was the sun icon a distorted image of their bearded white god Viracocha
who promised to return to them like the rising sun? “The Prophet Joseph Smith repeatedly
discoursed on the well-established figure of the rising sun as a symbol of the second advent of
Christ.”393 The gold sheets that adorned the Cuzco temple faced the rising sun. And he taught
that “This is the light of Christ. As also he is in the sun, and the light of the sun, and the power
thereof by which it was made.” (D&C 88:7); and that Christ’s “countenance shone above the
brightness of the sun.” (D&C 110:3). Still, the fifteenth-century-AD Incas were wrong to “re-
dedicate” the Golden Enclosure to the sun. Without a prophet in their midst, it is easy to
understand the source of their confusion.
In the temple were also symbols of the Lord of thunder and the rainbow. The rainbow was a
symbol of gratitude to Viracocha (Christ) who had led Manco Capac to Cuzco and set a rainbow
389
Bauer, 148.
390
Bauer, 148.
391
Mosley, 74-79.
392
Bauer, 157.
393
Gaskill, 156.
142
above the valley to indicate that this was the place where the people should settle. 394 As for
Lord of thunder, we need to remember that an important Nephite name for Jesus Christ was
the “voice of thunder” (1 Nephi 17:45; Mosiah 27:11; 27:18; Alma 29:2, 36:7, 38:7), a name that
obviously is associated with the times He spoke to the Nephites and the earth shook. Thunder
was also associated with both the prophecy announcing the coming of the Lord to the Nephites
(Helaman 14:27), and his actual appearance to them (3 Nephi 8:6).
The Temple’s Outer Courtyard
Nephi’s temple was built after the manner of Solomon’s (2 Nephi 5:16). King Solomon’s temple
had an outer plaza or courtyard which measured 500 cubits square or roughly 729 feet
measured in ancient cubits.395 The temple in Cuzco had a courtyard surround by twenty-foot-
tall walls that measure 625 feet by 500 feet.396 As one historian states of Solomon’s Temple, “a
plaza or courtyard surrounding the sacred residence of the god marked with stones, is a feature
common throughout ancient Semitic religions.”397 The famed Salt Lake City Temple has a walled
courtyard in which several beautiful statues are found, including the Christus replica statue in
the Visitors Center.
The Spanish chronicler Cieza de Leon wrote “Coricancha, the temple of the Sun, contained
many precious objects even after its exterior had been stripped for Atahualpa’s ransom. Gold
and silver life-size models of men, women, llamas, and maize filled the garden. In the center of
the temple was a large gold disk of the sun, and replicas of the moon, the stars, and a
representation of Illapa, the thunder.”398 One of the statues was of the lord Viracocha (Christ).
One observer writes:
It seemed that in the early sixteenth century, before the Spanish began to
demolish Peruvian culture in earnest, an idol of Viracocha {Christ} had stood in
the Holy of Holies of the Coricancha {temple}. According to a contemporary text,
the Relacion anonyma de las costumbres antiques de las naturales del Piru, this
idol took the form of a large marble statue of the god–-a statue described ‘as to
the hair, complexion, features, raiment and sandals, just as painters represent
the apostle Saint Bartholomew. Other accounts of Viracocha likened his
appearance to that of the Saint Thomas.399
Of course, no one in ancient Peru would have known what Bartholomew or Thomas looked like.
However, there is a written record of one Jew who actually visited Peru at the time of the first
394
Urton, 49.
395
http://www.yahrzeit.org/text_link/temple_text1/textpage224.htm.
396
Mann, 79.
397
http://en.allexpert.com/e/s/so/solomon’s _temple.htm.
398
Cieza de León (2), 321, footnote 2, see Hemming, Conquest, 132-34.
399
Osborne, 81.
143
apostles. He was Jesus Christ, and the record of his visit to the New World is found in the Book
of Mormon. 400
The Golden Garden (Garden of Eden)
Sullivan provide this description of the Cuzco temple:
The first Spanish outriders to reach Cuzco were overwhelmed by the golden garden
in the outer courtyard of the Temple of the Sun. It contained life-size effigies of
maize and other food plants, of flowers, of golden llamas. By a font of gold stood
enormous gold and silver urns overflowing with maize and other sacrificial offerings.
The interior walls were clad in gold, and facing the rising sun was an image of the
Sun encrusted in emeralds and other precious stones. Countless golden vessels bore
the images of every living thing—birds, snakes, crayfish, and caterpillars.401
Without understanding why the Incas had a golden garden in their temple, the concept might
seem odd as a way to adorn a temple of Jesus Christ. Since the initial Mormon temples usually
incorporated a “Garden Room,” the symbolism should not be lost on Latter-day Saints.
However, the most interesting historical precedent is Solomon’s temple, which was also
adorned with sheets of gold and had an orchard of gold trees.402
Another feature of the Cuzco temple that needs to be understood is why it was lavished with so
much gold. The Incas placed no commercial value in the metal. To them it was only a means of
reminding them of the glory of god. Alonzo Gaskin writes of the religious symbolism of the
metal:
Gold also symbolized the celestial, divine, or godly nature of a thing.

Commentators make this connection partly because gold is pure, incorruptible,
precious, and glorious. The Apostle Paul established an ancient connection
between gold and things celestial when he stated: ‘There are also celestial
bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory
of the terrestrial is another. There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of
the moon, and another glory of the stars…. (1 Corinthians 15:40-41). Joseph
Fielding McConkie wrote, ‘Gold is the color of the sun, it represents divine
power, the splendor of enlightenment, radiance, and glory. Because of its great
value, and its radiance, gold is known to us as the possessions of kings and great
kingdoms. It is a symbol common to scriptural descriptions of God and the
heavenly kingdom.’403
400
3 Nephi 9-28).
401
Sullivan, 319.
402
The Jewish Encyclopedia, Vol. II (New York, Funk and Wagnell, 1925), 105.
403
Gaskill, 92.
144
Is it correct then to suggest that the Inca name for their temple, the Golden House or
House of God, actually meant the House of the Lord?
The Temple’s Golden Font and Altar of Pure Gold
Hemming notes of the Cuzco temple’s golden font: “The font was more substantial. Juan Ruiz
de Arce witnessed ceremonies being performed at it during the first year of the Conquest. ‘In
the center of the courtyard is a font, and beside this font is an altar…there remains in our
convent a large stone font that is octagonal on the outer side. It is over a vara and a half [five
feet] in diameter and over a vara and a quarter deep [roughly four feet].”404 Of course,
Solomon’s temple had similar features. The courtyard of the Jerusalem temple had a large
brazen altar, while the temple’s Altar of Incense had a gold overlay.”405
The sheer volume of gold found in the temple’s garden is staggering. In his Royal Commentaries
of the Inca (1609) Garcilaso de la Vega writes:
In the time of the Incas, this garden... was entirely made of gold and silver; and there
were similar gardens about all the royal mansions. Here could be seen all sorts of
plants, flowers, trees, animals, both small and large, wild and tame, tiny, crawling
creatures such as snakes, lizards, and snails, as well as butterflies and birds of every
size; each one of these marvels being placed at the spot that best suited the nature
of what it represented.
There were a tall corn stalk and another stalk from the grain they call quinoa, as well
as other vegetables and fruit trees, the fruits of which were all very faithfully
reproduced in gold and silver. There were also, in the house of the Sun, as well as in
that of the king, piles of wool made of gold and silver, and large statues of men,
women, and children made of the same materials, in addition to storerooms and
recipients for storing the grain they called pirua, all of which, together, tended to
lend greater splendor and majesty to the house of their god, the Sun.
All of these valuable works were made by the goldsmiths attached to the Temple,
from the tribute of gold and silver that arrived every year from all the provinces of
the Empire, and which was so great that the most modest utensils used in the
temple, such as pots and pans, or pitchers, were also made of precious metals. For
this reason, the temple and its service quarters were called Coricancha, which
means the place of gold.406
404
Hemming, 134.
405
LDS Bible Dictionary, 607.
406
http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://inkasperu.com/tours/jpg_files/jpg_photos/titicaca/p
uno_pucara_pueblo.jpg&imgrefurl=http://inkasperu.com/tours/featured_tours/ancient_civilizations.ht
ml&h=264&w=400&sz=33&hl=en&start=24&um=1&tbnid=VyyauMoXwVnH2M:&tbnh=82&tbnw=124&
145
The Temple’s Golden Altar Piece
The Holy of Holies in the temple in Cuzco housed two treasures, a golden bench or altar and a
gold altarpiece. The bench was melted into Spanish bullion. Perhaps the most interesting
existing artifact from the Holy of Holies is the great altarpiece that was referred to as
“Viracocha’s Standard.” Fortunately, the Inca Pachakuti Yamqui (Juan Pachacuti) made a crude
drawing of the altarpiece and marked on it what he believed the symbols on the altar meant.
According to Inca oral tradition “Viracocha’s Standard” was created by none other than Manco
Capac (Nephi), and thus would have been an item found in the original temple of Manco Capac
(Nephi).
According to Sullivan, the symbols on

the altarpiece represented important
religious concepts. Indeed, they prove
that in Manco Capac’s time the
primary god of the Peruvians was
Viracocha and not the sun. Sullivan
explains that at the very top of the
standard is a “male” form of a cross
that is represented by the three
“equal” stars, (a possible reference to
the godhead). Below the cross is a
large circle that represents Viracocha,
the “sun of the sun” that meant the
one who created the sun and its
Figure 33 The golden altar piece in the Cuzco temple orbits 407 —in other words the first
world-age, the creation. To one side of
the oval is the icon of the sun, the male icon, while on the other side is the moon, the female
realm.408 LDS Temple seating places men on one side and women on the other. Below the oval
symbol of Viracocha is the Inca “"female” cross. William Sullivan believes that the male and
female crosses represented the “world parents”409 and Viracocha was their son. He writes:
“Here, then, arrayed about the central symbol of Wiraqocha—an oval on the stave—are the
world parents.... Here also the ultimate, cosmic origin of Wiraqocha’s ,Christ- androgyny is fully
expressed. As the creator of the starry and ecliptic realms, Wiracocha {Christ} was also their
{‘world parents’ – celestial parents’- offspring.”410
prev=/images%3Fq%3Dpukara%2Bperu%26start%3D20%26ndsp%3D20%26svnum%3D10%26um%3D1%
26hl%3Den%26safe%3Doff%26rls%3DSNYI,SNYI:2005-28,SNYI:en%26sa%3DN, 25 November 2007.
407
Sullivan 106, 107.
408
Sullivan, 103, 106.
409
Sullivan, 104.
410
Sullivan, 103-105.
146
In addition, there is a cluster of 12 or 13 stars on the altar that could be a reference to the
Twelve Tribes of Israel or Viracocha and the Twelve Apostles. Of course, no one today actually
knows for certain what Manco Capac meant by the drawings engraved on the golden
altarpiece, but one does not need to stretch his imagination far to see that the symbols include
the fundamental elements from Lehi’s dream. Latin characters have been added to Pachacuti’s
drawing to identify the author’s suggestions of how the symbols could possibly have
represented the elements of Lehi’s dream.
A. Pachacuti noted that the large golden disk represents Viracocha, whom the Incas called
the “Eternal Light.” The Lord told Nephi that He was his “light in the wilderness” (1
Nephi 17:13). The display at the Coricancha provides this description: “Wira-qochan
(Viracocha) ‘Teacher of the world’. The author of the drawing comments that this
element was a golden plate, round or oval, that symbolized the creator of the world,
Wiraqocha, who was the supreme deity of the Incas according to the Pachacuti
Yamqui’s chronicle. The plate was made by the order of the first Inca ruler, Manko
Qapaq (Manco Capac).”
B. The Sun (Celestial Kingdom or fruit of the Tree of Life)
C. The Moon (Terrestrial Kingdom)
D. Stars (Telestial Kingdom or Southern Cross). Similar symbols of the sun, moon, and stars
are found on some Latter-day Saint temples.
147
E. A twisting river flowing through a canyon. According to the display at the Coricancha,
this symbol represented “Pilcomayo (Pillku-mayu), in Quechua – “river of many colors,”
probably an extinct name of some specific river of importance (R. Lehmann-Nitsche).” In
his dream, Lehi sees his family following the course of a river. The members of Lehi’s
family were descendants or remnants of the house of Joseph. The “remnant” is symbol
of Joseph’s of coat of many colors. (Alma 46:23)
F. Tall mountains from which the river flows—exactly the conditions that exist in wadi
Tayyib al-Ism, my candidate for the valley of Lemuel, where Lehi had his dream of the
Tree of Life. Undoubtedly, the valley of Lemuel formed the imagery of Lehi’s dream.411
However, the display in the Coricancha provides another interpretation. It claims that
the round sphere represents the “earth.” This could be seen as the world, Idumea, or
the pride of those in the tall and spacious building of Lehi’s dream. The guide at the
Coricancha made an interesting observation. He noted that if the ancient Incas knew the
world was round, they must have had contact with the ancient Egyptians, who realized
that the world was a sphere (1 Nephi 1:2).
G. The display at the Coricancha suggests that it represents the deity of thunderstorms and
lightning, the master of rain. The river in Lehi’s dream is characterized as being both of
pure waters and of filthy waters. In other words, the river had pure waters until a rain
storm transformed it into a muddy torrent.
H. A Lake or gulf where those who let go of the iron rod before reaching the tree perished
in its depths. The display at the Coricancha notes “It can be interpreted as the Pacific
Ocean or the Titicaca Lake.”
I. This figure is believed to have represented a collcampata, meaning terrace of granaries.
If this represented a terraced (multileveled) man-made structure, it might also have
represented a large and spacious building where people mocked those trying to reach
the tree of life; letting go of the rod, they wandered into the gulf (see H. above).
Between the river and the terraced structure are seven round objects. The Coricancha
display suggests that these are “eyes.” The eyes could represent people looking from
the river to the man-made structure. The Book of Mormon states that when the people
saw the tall and spacious building, “they did cast their eyes about as if they were
ashamed” (1 Nephi 8:25-27).
J. Lehi and Sariah looking toward the tree of life. Pachacuti labeled the left figure
“hombre” meaning “man,” and the right figure “mujer” and “Mama” (“woman” and
“mother”).
K. According to the display at the Coricancha, the small circle and line that goes to the
cocha (gulf) represent: “Pucyo (pukyu), in Quechua— ‘water spring.’” In Lehi’s dream a
straight and narrow path, as well as an iron rod, led to the fountain of living waters” (1
Nephi 11:25, 12:16)
L. The Tree of Life is clearly marked by Pachacuti as “arbol,” which is Spanish for “tree.”
The tree appears to be a symbolized palm. The Coricancha display reads: “Manko Qapaq
[Manco Capac or Nephi] established a cult to his parents [Lehi and Sariah at the tree]
411
Potter & Wellington, Lehi in the Wilderness, also see George Potter documentary film, The Tree of Life (Bear
River City, Utah: Bear River Training and Consultancy, 2005).
148
symbolized by two trees in Paqariq Tanpu [perhaps the Valley of Lemuel], the mythical
place of origin of the Incas.” Above the figure of a tree is a grouping that looks like a pile
of stones. The Coricancha display suggests that this represents “Pocóy (poqoy mita) in
Quechua— “the season when the crops ripen.” The fruit of the Tree of Life was of
perfect ripeness, being most precious and desirable above all other fruit (1 Nephi
15:36).
Did the Temple Plates Contain an Historical Record?
The Inca temple was lined with golden plates, all of which were melted down by the Spaniards.
The existence of golden plates raises an interesting question. Were there inscriptions on the
thin golden plates that lined the walls of the temple? Since the plates were destroyed, we will
never know if reformed Egyptian characters appeared on some of the plates. However, there
was a sacred history recorded on boards adorned in gold and that were kept in the Holy of
Holies in the temple in Cuzco. We cannot be certain what these gold-adorned boards were,
since they were also destroyed. Sarmiento recorded this interesting facet of the Inca temple:
Besides this they had, and still have, special historians in these nations, a
hereditary office descending from father to son…. He *Inca Yapanqui+ had them
[historians] in Cuzco for a long time, examining them concerning their
antiquities, origin, and the most notable events in their history. These were
painted on great boards, and deposited in the temple of the Sun, in a great hall.
There such boards, adorned with gold, were kept as in our libraries, and learned
persons were appointed, who were well versed in the art of understanding and
declaring their contents. No one was allowed to enter where these boards were
kept, except the Inca and the historians, without a special order of the Inca.”412
Only authorized Inca-temple priestly historians were allowed to read the boards in the Holy of
Holies. The Inca temple boards bring to mind Mosiah’s need to teach his son the Egyptian
language so they could read the sacred Nephite plates (Mosiah 1:2), something that would have
been impossible for the common Nephites to do since they spoke only the language of the
people. At first glance, one might not see the significance of having found an historical record
written on wooden boards. However to Latter-day Saints this could be a major clue in locating
the Book of Mormon lands. The reason for this lies in the Latter-day Saint interpretation of a
prophecy made by Ezekiel:
The word of the Lord came unto me, saying Moreover, thou son of man, take thee one
stick, and write upon it, For Judah, and for the children of Israel his companions: then
take another stick, and write upon it, For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and for all the
house of Israel his companions: and join them one to another into one stick; and they
shall become one in thine hand. (Ezekiel 37:15-17).
412
Sarmiento, 41-42.
149
Latter-day Saints believe that these verses foretell the coming forth of the Book of Mormon
which is the record or stick of Joseph. We believe that in the Last Days the Book of Mormon,
with the Bible, will together testify of the Savior. What most students of the Book of Mormon
or Bible do not realize is what Ezekiel meant by the word “stick.” Elder Boyd K. Packer stated:
“The sticks, of course, are records or books. In ancient Israel records were written upon tablets
of wood or scrolls rolled upon sticks.”413 Monte S. Nyman, of Brigham Young University notes:
However, writing on wooden tablets has more recently been discovered. Wooden
tablets were discovered and reported to the academic world in 1948. The tablets were
discovered in ancient southern Babylonia, the area where Ezekiel was in captivity. The
New English Bible, a translation sponsored by the Protestant churches and Bible
societies in the British Isles, translates Ezekiel 37:15-20 as follows:” These were the
words of the Lord to me: Man, take one leaf of a wood tablet and write on it, ‘Judah and
his associates of Israel.’ Then take another leaf and write on it, ‘Joseph, the leaf of
Ephraim and all his associates of Israel.’ Now bring the two together to form a tablet;
then they will be a folding tablet in your hand.’414
If the wooden boards in the Cuzco temple contained the record of the large or small plates of
Nephi, then there was a literal “stick of Joseph” found among the pre-Columbian Peruvians.
The Tower near the Temple
Between 160-150 BC the Book of Mormon’s wicked King Noah

“built a tower {in the city of Nephi} near the temple; yea, a very
high tower, even so high that he could stand upon the top thereof
and overlook the land of Shilom, and also the land Shelon, which
was possessed by the Lamanites; and he could even look over all
the land round about” (Mosiah 11:12).
We learn from this verse that the Lamanites lived within sight of
Cuzco, and from the tower near the temple the king observed the
movements of his enemies. When the cruel elder brother of
Manco Capac, Ayar Cachi {Laman}, finally freed himself from the
cave, he seems to have taken up residence at Guanacauri, a hill
that can be seen “on the horizon of Cuzco.”415 Mosley tells us that
“Nearby [the Cuzco temple] towered the tallest of all edifices, a
grand spire of exquisite masonry that cast no noontime shadow at zenith. The coming of zenith
was precisely foretold from a tower window by observing sunrise over the marked point of the
distant horizon.”416
413
Packer, Boyd K., “Scriptures”, Ensign, November 1982, 51.
414
Nyman, Monte S., Abomination of Desolation, (Springville, Utah: Cedar Fort Inc., 2006), 24-25.
415
Sullivan, 235.
416
Mosley, 74-79.
150
Walls, Resort & Tower on a Hill North of the City
“He [King Noah] caused many buildings to be built in the land of Shilom, and he caused a great
tower to be built on the hill north of the land of Shilom, which had been a resort for the
children of Nephi at the time they fled out of the land” (Mosiah 11:13).
Kocherhans presents an interesting argument for where this second tower of King Noah was
located. From verses 12 and 13 of the book of Mosiah chapter eleven, Kocherhans lists several
features of the city of Nephi.
1. It is apparent from these scriptures that the temple constructed under the
direction of Nephi, around 550 BC, was still in existence four hundred years later
and still a landmark in the city of Nephi.
2. The city of Nephi appears to be surrounded by sufficient level ground that from
the temple location an area called Shemlon, occupied by Lamanites could be seen
and distinguished from the city Nephi.
3. To the north of the city of Nephi was a Nephite community called Shilom. It
could be seen from the tower by the temple and distinguished from Shemlon and
the north borders of the city of Nephi.
4. On the hill on the north of Shilom was a place of last resort* or small fort built
for the protection of the people. It seems reasonable that the distance to the hill
from the borders of the city of Nephi would not have been excessive in order for
the people to reach it in time of attack [*Resort: ultimate means of relief, Noah
Webster’s Dictionary 1828+….417
Kocherhans refines our understanding of what a Nephite “resort” was by citing Alma 48:8, “he
had been strengthening the armies of the Nephites, and erecting small forts, or places of resort;
throwing up banks of earth around about to enclose his armies, and also building walls of
stone.” Kocherhans concludes:
After years of research and studying ruins

of the western hemisphere, I have found
this picture in the book The Last of the
Incas, by Edward Hyams and George
Ordish. On page 153 it shows that a place
called Sacsahuaman by the Inca, was an
ancient fortress, built on a hill to the
north of the city of today’s Cuzco, Peru.
Then in Ancient America by Jonathan

Norton Leonard, on page 133, I found an
aerial picture of the same fortress, with
Figure 34 Author in front of massive boulders of the first
wall
417 of Sacsahuaman
Kocherhans, Nephi to Zarahemla, 70-71.
151
this caption under the picture: “Massive Triple Walls guard Cuzco’s Sacsahuaman
citadel, whose ruined foundations are visible at top right. Circular walls marked
the site of a tower.
In The National Geographic, December 1973 edition, I found still further

collaboration with this great picture and commentary: “Navel of the world” they
called it Cuzco, capital of the Inca Empire. From sketchy Spanish Accounts, artist
Donald A. Mackay has “reconstructed the city on its still-surviving foundations…”
Notice the tower on the north of the city.
One page 776 of the same National Geographic issue is a caption that reads:
“Rocks of ages underpin much of modern Cuzco, sprawling in the valley beyond
the massive hilltop fortress of Sacsahuaman. Pachacuti in the 1400s began
rebuilding the city, oldest continually inhabited metropolis in the Americas.”
That information also agrees with the Book of Mormon, for we know from the
scriptures that the city of Nephi was the main location of both the Nephites and
then Lamanites from the time it was established by Nephi and the followers of
Jesus Christ throughout Book of Mormon history.
And here in the city of Cuzco is an ancient block wall, again built with the same
precision as the rock work on the fortress. This could have been part of the base of
the high tower that King Noah built, or perhaps of the temple that Nephi built.
It was very exciting to finally find a place that physically matches the Book of
Mormon scriptures!!
In all my years of research, I have not been able to find any other location in the
western hemisphere that matches so precisely the description in the scriptures of
the land and city of Nephi, as does this Cuzco, Peru area.”418
Although I agree with Kocherhans’s conclusion, that Cuzco is the best candidate for the city of
Nephi in all the Western Hemisphere, it must be remembered that the Inca king Pachacuti
rebuilt the city and fortress of Sacsahuaman in the fifteenth century AD. However, Pachacuti
was only attempting to rebuild Cuzco in the image of its past glory, so one would assume that
to some degree he used the original foundations and what was remembered of the city’s past
layout as a model for its later reconstruction. In this regard, the strategic location of
Sacsahuaman suggests that it is highly probable that in ancient times a fort existed at
Sacsahuaman. It would also seem logical to assume that like the later Incas, the builders of the
ancient fort would have wisely utilized a lookout tower to determine the movements in the
surrounding valleys.
By any measure, Sacsahuaman was a magnificent “resort.” Bauer describes the importance of
the fort and notes that archaeologists have now dated the site to an era close to that of King
418
Kocherhans, Nephi in Zarahemla, 73-79.
152
Noah. He writes, “The most important site outside the city but within the Cuzco Basin is the
massive site of Sacsayhuaman [Sacsahuaman]. It is located on a steep hill that overlooks the
city and provides an impressive view of the valley to the southeast. Surface collections at
Sacsayhuaman indicate that the site dates back to at least the Qotakalli Period [AD 200-
600].”419 Michael Mosley notes:
The head of the cat was formed by the largest and highest edifices, called
Sacsahuaman. Perched atop a high hill, one side of the complex ran along a cliff
with a commanding view of the city. The opposite side of the hill was relatively
low and encased by three successively higher zigzag terraces. Each wall
employed the finest and most impressive of Inca polygonal masonry, including
individual stone blocks weighing from 90 to more than 100 metric tons. In plan
Sacsahuaman is suggestive of an elongated animal head topped with the great
terraces. A marvelous complex of fine ashlar buildings crown a flattened hill,
including tall towers, and circular and rectangular structures. Excavations have
revealed a complex system of finely cut stone channels and drains suggesting
ritual manipulations of water. Cieza de León says that Pachacuti intended
Sacsahuaman to be a temple that would surpass all other edifices in splendor.
Garcilaso de la Vega relates that only
royalty could enter the sacrosanct
complex because it was a house of the
sun, of arms and war, and a temple of
prayer and sacrifice. Construction
supposedly employed 30,000 workers
who labored for several generations.420
Hiram Bingham, the American explorer who

discovered Machu Picchu, called Sacsahuaman
the “most unbelievable achievement of ancient
man in the Americas.”421 McIntyre writes of
Sacsayhuaman: “Later observers doubted that Figure 35 Throne of the Inca with 12 seats next to it, 3 on
Indians could haul such huge stones up here one side 9 on the other, Sacsahuaman, Cuzco.
and shape them so precisely. They thought it
was the devil’s doing. Others insisted the Incas knew how to soften stones and mold them like
clay. The latest fad attributes construction to extraterrestrial beings.”422
Today, nothing remains of the buildings or the great tower at Sacsayhuaman. Following a bitter
battle between the Spaniards and an Indian uprising, the Spaniards used the buildings of the
419
Bauer, 98-99.
420
Mosley, 74-79.
421
McIntyre, 764.
422
McIntyre, 764.
153
fortress as a source of building stones. Within a year of the battle, most of the buildings and
towers had vanished. 423
Besides being a fortress, Sacsahuaman was an important religious center in pre-Columbian

Peru. Bauer notes: “The most notable feature of this area [middle site of Sacsayhuaman] is the
famous carved stone, referred to as “the throne of the Incas.” This carving was a shrine of the
Cuzco ceque system and may have held an important role in the Inca rituals that took place in
the complex.”424 “The throne of the Incas” was carved from a single massive stone. The throne
rests in front of a large open area where thousands of people could gather. The throne consists
of one large central seat and twelve smaller seats on its side. Just to the east of the throne is a
building that is separated into twelve niches.
Wimpillay – possible site for original City of Nephi
Cuzco is the oldest continuously inhabited city in the Americas. It has been rebuilt several
times, subjected to repairs from major earthquakes, and is today a bustling city. It is impossible
to know what ancient remains lie beneath the foundations of the city’s occupied buildings and
streets. Inca oral traditions place Manco Capac’s first settlement at the temple site in Cuzco.
However, recent discoveries of the ruins of Wimpillay near the Cuzco airport hint that it could
have been the city of Nephi. Initial excavations at Wimpillay point to many features that one
would expect to find in the ruins of the early Nephite capital: a sacred temple, high quality
pottery of an elite society, a sacred area on a hill directly above the city—possibly the site of an
ancient altar—and a tower. Bauer concludes:
I currently interpret the site of Wimpillay to be the center of a valley-wide chiefdom

during the Late Formative Phase. Closely associated with this center was a ritual
precinct, Muyu Orco, which continued to hold special significance in the valley until
the arrival of the Spaniards.425
Through time, a select few sites grew to occupy disproportionately important roles
within the regional settlement patterns. In the Cuzco Basin. It appears that the site
of Wimpillay emerged as the center of a small chiefdom-level society during the Late
Formative Phase (500 BC–AD 200). The site is the largest Late Formative Phase
occupation known in the valley and contains the finest Formative ceramics. Adjacent
to Wimpillay is the distinctly round hill of Muyu Orco, the top of which contains a
ceremonial sunken court dating to the Late Formative. The emergent leaders of
Wimpillay may have controlled the other settlements within a few hours’ walk, and
toward the end of the period, perhaps the entire valley came to be united under a
single elite clan located in this village.426
423
Betanzos, 157-158..
424
Bauer, 100.
425
Bauer, 44.
426
Bauer, 186.
154
Dating Wimpillay to the Late Formative Phase (500 BC to AD 200) is important. Not only does it
place the Cuzco valley settlements within the Book of Mormon time frame, it also places the
legendary Manco Capac {Nephi} within the same period. We can assume this because the
Spanish found the huaca and possibly the mummy of Manco Capac, not in Cuzco, but at
Wimpillay.427
Wherever Nephi was buried, we owe so much to him. He gave us the precious first chapters of
the Book of Mormon. Perhaps, the greatest gift he gave to humanity was his example of how
one person, despite obstacles that would have crushed the spirit of most men, can live a pure
Christian life. To this day, the descendants of the Incas teach their children:
“Manco Inca {Nephi}, the first inhabitant of these lands, when he died, was taken to heaven to
the house and place of this god called Pirua, and that there he was ensconced and feasted by
that same god.428
Learn more about Cuzco by reading, Nephi in the Promised Land which can be ordered through
www.nephiproject.com or http://www.cedarfort.com.
427
Bauer, 182.
428
Sullivan, 115-116.
155
Figure 36 Ruins of temple walls of Pukara, meaning the stronghold or fortress.
And as they went forth to lay their hands on him,

Behold, he [Samuel] cast himself down from the wall. Helaman 16:7
156
Neither durst they [Lamanites] march down
against the city of Zarahemla; neither durst they
cross the head of the Sidon. Alma 56:25
Chapter Nine
Pukara, a Candidate for the City of Zarahemla
Identifying the Andean city of Cuzco as a candidate for the city of Nephi was facilitated in part
by analyzing the striking parallels between the first king of the Nephites, Nephi, and his
counterpart, the first king of the Incas, Manco Capac. The first Nephite migration to the land of
Zarahemla was achieved by another Moses-like leader, Mosiah. It would seem pertinent then to
start our search for the land of Zarahemla by first asking, “Is there found among the oral
traditions of the Inca kings a ruler who can be matched with a significant degree of confidence
to King Mosiah in the Book of Mormon?”
The Inca ruling class consisted of kings and priestly record-keepers. The early Book of Mormon
kings appear to have been the direct descendants of Nephi, while a parallel set of prophet-
scribes maintained the sacred plates. When Nephi anointed his successor, he did so “according
to the reigns of the kings” (Jacob 1:9), that is, his eldest son succeeded him. Initially, Nephi
served as both king and the first record keeper. With time, he ordained his much younger
brother, Jacob, to be the record keeper for the next generation (2 Nephi 6:2, Jacob 1:1-2, 17-
18). Jacob would have been approximately the same age as Nephi’s eldest son, the second
Nephite king. During the time the Nephites ruled the city of Nephi, Jacob was succeeded by his
descendants as the record-keeper: Enos, Jarom, Omni, Amaron, Abinadom, and Amaleki.
Including Nephi and Jacob there were eight Nephite record-keepers in the city of Nephi up to
the time of Amaleki.
It was during the life of the eighth Nephite record keeper, Amaleki, that Mosiah and his
followers fled the city of Nephi and resettled among the Mulekites in the land of Zarahemla. If
there were an equal number of generations of kings in the city of Nephi before the fall of the
city to the Lamanites, then it is likely that Mosiah would have been the eighth Nephite king. It is
likely that he was born a sovereign, for when Mosiah arrived in Zarahemla he was selected to
become the king of the land (Omni 1:12). It would follow then, that if Mosiah had ruled in the
city of Nephi before he led the exodus to Zarahemla, that like his forefather Lehi, he fled the
city of Nephi (Cuzco) after having been warned by God.
How does Mosiah’s story compare with the oral traditions of the Inca kings? As discussed
earlier, current archaeologists believe that the genealogy of the Inca kings of Cuzco should be
divided into two separate civilizations that were divided by a great time span. The first eight
157
Inca kings ruled Cuzco in antiquity, while the remainder ruled just prior to the arrival of the
Spanish.429 According to the oral traditions of the Incas, the eighth Inca king, Viracocha Inca,
fled the city before the Chanca Indians (Laman, called Cachi).430 They also believe that the
eighth Inca king, “is the one that was named Viracocha Inca because he was very friendly with
his people and affable, governing very calmly, always giving gifts and doing favors. For this
reason, the people loved him greatly.” 431
It should be noted that Viracocha Inca took upon himself the name of the god Viracocha
(“Christ or Christian”). The Inca storytellers say that one day the king announced to his people
“that Viracocha Pacha-yachachic [God] had spoken to him and that god had talked to him that
night. Then all of his people stood up and called him Viracocha Inca, which means king and god,
and from then on he was called by this name.”432 In the tradition of the Biblical prophets
Abram, Jacob, Saul, were given new sacred names after seeing the Lord. The eighth Inca king
appears to have been given a “new name” after hearing the voice of God.
In my opinion, Viracocha Inca is a favorable candidate for the Book of Mormon king, Mosiah.
Like the eighth Inca king, Mosiah was warned by the Lord (Omni 1:12,13), fled the capital city
with his people (Omni 1:12), was a king (Omni 1:12), and took upon himself the name of his god
(believers in Zarahemla were called Christians, Alma 46:14-15). He must also have been beloved
of his people, for Mosiah taught the people, united them, and was appointed king by both the
minority Nephites and the majority Mulekites (Omni 1:18-19).
429 According to the oral traditions recorded by Juan de Betanzos, Viracocha Inca had a son named Inca Yapanki. This younger
son, refused to leave Cuzco, and with his three friends defeated the entire army of the Chanca. The story of Inca Yapanki’s
conquest of the Chanca army with only his own efforts and that of three friends makes him a superhero in Inca traditions. It is
said that “he fought the Chanca with such bravery that (according to the legend) the very stones rose up to join the fray.”(Mann
, 76) The legendary drama THAT SUBSEQUENTLY TOOK PLACE between him and his father, Viracocha Inca, was so
Shakespearian in nature, that many scholars question where it actual took place. Mann writes, “The family story makes such
terrific melodrama that it seems reasonable to wonder whether it actually happened….some scholars dismiss the chronicles
entirely.”(Mann, 76) The Spanish chronicler, Jesuit Bernabé Cobo dismissed the ties of the later Incas to the Viracocha four
brothers as “ludicrous” (Mann, 75). In my opinion the storybook rise to power of Inca Yapanki, as the first Inca, who declared
himself the son of the sun, is an attempt to legitimize his right to rule by creating the story that his father was Viracocha Inca, a
person that seems to have lived nearly two thousand years before him. Remember, Inca Yapanki was not the legitimate heir to
the throne; he took it from his older brother Inca Orson. Thus, Inca Yapanki not only made up an heroic story of how he
defended the nation ; he also created a false genealogy tracking his linage back to the first colonizers of Cuzco—the famed
Manco Capac [Inca] and the other kings for the first eight generations of Cuzco rulers. Cuzco was colonized in 500 BC, not
seven generations before Inca Yapanki, who lived during the fifteenth century AD .,,Having the Inca empire's founder
legitimized by wild tales of his conquest and savvy is reminiscent of the myth that George Washington chopped down his
father’s cherry tree. Creating a false genealogy that claims he was a descendant of Manco Capac is no more surprising than the
European monarchs having created false genealogies to claim that they were descendants of the house of David. (Steve Jones,
80-82). In other words, the first eight generations of Cuzco rulers, from the city’s founder Manco Capac until Viracocha Inca's
abandonment of the city, appears to be the actual story of the first eight rulers of Cuzco, but Inca Yapanki’s Herculean account
is out of context with time and realism.
430
Betanzos, 22.
431
Ibid.
432
Ibid. 18.
158
Pukara, an Empire Parallel to Zarahemla
In brief, here are four reasons why Pukara is a likely candidate for Zarahemla. First, Pukara is
located just north of Lake Titicaca and was populated by the Quechua-speaking people who
were disliked throughout history by the Aymara who lived on the opposite end of Lake Titicaca.
This fits the Book of Mormon scenario of the warring Nephites and Lamanites who were
separated by a strip of wilderness that stretches between two seas (Pacific and Titicaca).
Second, the city of Pukara came into prominence at roughly 200 BC, the period when king
Mosiah arrived at Zarahemla and started a new and prosperous dynasty. Third, Pukara is 120
miles south of Cuzco, which is how Zarahemla was geographically situated in reference to the
city of Nephi (“down” in Semitic languages and Quechua means “south,” see Omni 1:13,
Mormon 1:6). Fourth, the original land of Zarahemla (Pukara) was bordered by the sea on the
west (Pacific) and the sea on the east (Titicaca).
Kolata states of Pukara:
However we interpret the nature of Pukara influence outside of its Altiplano core
territory, it is evident that this dynamic Altiplano city was the most powerful and
well-integrated political force of its time in the southern Andes. For the first
time, with Pukara we see evidence of a corporate art style in the service of elites
that had extensive impact throughout the Titicaca basin and the adjoining
coastal regions of southern Peru and northern Chile…433
Pukara and the Mulekites
Mosiah’s exiles fled south from the city of Nephi into a wilderness. They eventually discovered a
large community of people called the Mulekites, in a land called Zarahemla. The Mulekites left
Jerusalem approximately the same time as Lehi. Thus, for Pukara to have been Zarahemla, the
Mulekites would have needed to have settled in the Promised Land on the Altiplano northwest
of Lake Titicaca, the area where Pukara was located. Pukara is located approximately 150 miles
inland from the Pacific. The Book of Mormon tells us that once the Mulekites crossed the
waters and landed, they went “into the land” (Omni 1:16), thus they did not remain along the
Pacific shoreline, but settled inland. After their initial migration, the Mulekites remained at the
same place (Omni 1:16).
Since we know from the Inca traditions that the lands around today’s Lima, Peru were known
by the ancient Peruvians as the land of the people of Desolation, then Pukara would have been
located in the right direction from the Book of Mormon land of Desolation (Helaman 3:3-5).
That is, when the Mulekites arrived, they found the land northward covered with the bones of
dead Jaredites (Omni 1:22); thus the Jaredite bones (in the land of Desolation) were in the “land
northward” of Zarahemla where the statement was originally recorded. Being located
southeast of Lima, Pukara matches the general location of Zarahemla.
433
Kolata, The Tiwanaku: Portrait of an Andean Civilization, 77.
159
The existence of the Mulekites raises an interesting question in reference to any candidate for
the land of Zarahemla. How could the Nephites have lived for nearly four hundred years in
relative proximity to the Mulekites without having discovered them? In a Pukara model for
Zarahemla the answer is straightforward. There are two explanations for this lack of interaction
between the Nephites at the city of Nephi (Cuzco) and the Mulekites at Zarahemla (Pukara)
approximately 120 miles to the south. First, there were Lamanites to the immediate south of
the city of Nephi. Thus, there was an enemy barrier between the Nephites and Mulekites. This
appears to have been the case between Cuzco and Pukara, where Aymara-speaking people
lived between the Quechua-speaking people of Cuzco and Pukara. Second, the Book of
Mormon indicates that there was a narrow passage between the land northward and the land
southward (Mormon 2:29). The narrow “passage” was a unique feature, and should not be
confused with the “narrow strip of wilderness” or “the narrow neck of land” that are cited
elsewhere in the Book of Mormon. Furthermore, it appears that the “narrow passage” was a
route through a mountain range.
Zarahemla was located in the land southward; but north of Zarahemla, in the direction of the
city of Nephi, are the mountains called Manti. These mountains formed the watershed of the
headwaters of the Sidon River (Alma 22:29). The Manti mountain range, unlike the Andes, ran
east to west (Alma 22:27). Thus, the Book of Mormon hints that between the two ancient
civilizations was a major geographic barrier, and if the Lamanites controlled the only “narrow
passage” through the mountains, it would explain why there was no interaction between the
Nephites and Mulekites and why their culture and languages took separate courses for nearly
four centuries.
Numerous historical cases show how mountains have isolated two groups of people. Having
lived in Switzerland, I was amazed to learn that the people living in each mountainous canton
had their own unique dialect, which differed significantly from the dialect of the people living in
the very next valley. The towering Alps virtually isolate the alpine communities who live within
a few miles of each other..
Although the Inca cities of Cuzco and Pukara are only 120 miles apart, the two ancient city-
states were separated by a range of glaciered mountains that tower over 20,000 feet. The only
passage through the Vilcanota Mountains is the La Raya pass at an altitude of 14,172 feet.
Furthermore, the Vilcanota Mountain range runs east to west between the two great Andes
cordilleras, thus forming a massive barrier between the Nephites and the Mulekites.
A mountainouss terrain between the two cities of Nephi and the land of Zarahemla would also
explain why parties that left Zarahemla got lost in their attempts to find the city of their first
inheritance (Omni 1:28-30).
Locating the city of Zarahemla at Pukara would also satisfy another Book of Mormon clue as to
the city’s location. If the Lamanite (Aymara-speaking) tribes lived in the valleys between Cuzco
and the La Raya pass, and also in the lands south of the Mulekites (southeast of Lake Titicaca),
then it meant that Lamanites surrounded the land of Zarahemla (compare Alma 22:29).
160
Amaleki provided us a further clue as to the location of Zarahemla. He recorded that a large
number of Nephites became “desirous to possess the land of their inheritance” and “went up
[North] into the wilderness” (Omni 1:27, 28). Again, in Semitic languages and in Quechua “up”
implies “north,” the direction one would travel from Pukara to Cuzco.
Archaeological Evidence for Zarahemla at Pukara
Archaeologists place Pukara squarely in the historical period of Zarahemla. Elizabeth Klarich of
University of California at Santa Barbara cites:
The Late (or Upper) Formative (500 BC-AD 400) is characterized by the
development of the first markedly ranked societies in the region centered at the
sites of Pukara in the northwestern basin and Tiwanaku (Tiahuanacu) in the
southern basin (Stanish et al. 1997; Stanish 2003:137). Stanish defines these
polities as complex chiefdoms and, in spite of their scale and influence, argues
that many areas of the basin were not under the control of either polity.434
Not only did the Pukara civilization

start to rise at the time of the
arrival of the Mulekites (roughly
500 BC), it fell at the time of the
demise of the Nephites (AD 400).
Further, no evidence can be found
that the city was occupied during
the subsequent Middle Horizon
period; 435 thus, hinting that a
genocide had occurred at Pukara.
Referring to that time period,
Klarich notes: “By AD 400, the
Pukara polity had collapsed while
Tiahuanacu {Lamanites at the south end of the lake} continued to grow and reorganized into an
urban center, one that developed into the first archaic state of the Titicaca region.”436 In other
words, in an Altiplano paradigm for Zarahemla, the Nephite society disappeared on the
northwest end of Lake Titicaca (circa AD 400), while their enemies, the Lamanites, continued
prospering at Tiwanaku (Tiahuanacu).
In further detail, archaeologists divide the Pukara civilization into three sub-periods, which
coincide remarkably well with the three distinct Zarahemla periods mentioned in the Book of
434
Klarich, 45.
435
Klarich, 67.
436
Klarich, 45.
161
Mormon: the Mulekite Period (roughly 550-200 BC), the Nephites (200 BC to AD 30), and the
Post-Christ visitation-reconstruction period (AD 30–400). Mujica (1988)437 divided the Pukara
civilization between the Initial Pukara (500-200 BCE.|), Middle Pukara (200 BC–AD 100), and the
Late Pukara (AD 100—300). Steadman (1995)438 establishes the Pukara periods as: the Initial
Pukara and the Classic Pukara 1 (400—100 BC) , the Classic Pucara Period (100 BC–AD 100), and
the Late Pukara (AD 100—350).
Geographic and Demographic Context
The land of Zarahemla was a hegemony that included many other cities and villages. Alma
established at least seven churches in the land (Mosiah 25:23). Although the capital was the city
of Zarahemla, we know that there must have been many small urban centers within a one-day
walking distance of Zarahemla. We can infer this because King Mosiah made a proclamation
that “…this people, or the people of Zarahemla, and the people of Mosiah who dwell in the
land… thereby… may be gathered together; for on the morrow I shall proclaim…” (Mosiah
1:10). The Titicaca Basin in the Late Formative Period consisted of the primary regional centers,
the capital cities of Tiwanaku (Tiahuanacu) and Pukara, which attracted large populations.439
Klarich writes: “The Pukara polity is characterized by a three-tiered site hierarchy with the
primate non-urban center of Pukara, smaller secondary centers, and villages and hamlets.”440.
The land of Zarahemla had a river that flowed north to south through it and which appears to
have defined the land’s western border. The river’s name was Sidon, and it flowed beside the
city of Zarahemla. The Pukara River winds its way through the entire length of the northern
Lake Titicaca basin, from the La Raya passage in the north (the border between the northeast
and southeast Inca quarters) south to Lake Titicaca (sea east). The remains of the city of Pukara
rest just above the river. The river’s headwaters, course, and drainage into the giant lake suit
well the features attributed to the river Sidon, which extended to the “northern parts of the
land bordering the wilderness, at the head of the river Sidon” (Alma 22:29).
The land of Melek was on the west side of the river Sidon (Alma 8:3), suggesting that the
western border of the land of Zarahemla was the river Sidon. In an Altiplano scenario, Lake
Titicaca would have dominated the land’s southern borders, and Zarahemla’s eastern border
would have ended at the Amazon basin where most of the basin’s western flanks are covered
with a sheet of water six months of the year.441 The river, lake, and Amazon flood basin meet
the criteria that the Land of Zarahemla was nearly surrounded by water (Alma 22:32).
437
E. Mujica, "Peculiaridades del proceso histórico temprano en la cuenca norte de Titicaca." Una propuesta inicial.
Boletín del laboratoriao de arquelogía 2:75-122, quoted by Klarich, 69.
438
Steadman, L.H. Excavations at Camata: an Early Ceramic Chronology for the Western Titicaca Basin, Peru.
Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, University of California, Berkeley: 1995.
439
Klarich, 45.
440
Klarich, 20 also see C. S. Stanish, Ancient Titicaca: The Evolution of Complex Society in Southern Peru and
Northern Bolivia, (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2003), 111.
441
Mann, 3.
162
The Book of Mormon tells us that an extensive range of mountains and wilderness was adjacent
to Zarahemla. The terrain allowed the Gadianton robbers to raid the Nephites and then return
to their secret places in the mountains where the Nephites could not find them (Helaman
11:25-31, 3 Nephi 1:27). To the immediate east and north of Pukara is one of the greatest
mountain wildernesses on earth, the Andes Mountains.
A Civilization with a Sophisticated Culture
Distinct from ancient civilizations in Central and North America, the Pukara society, like the
Nephite community, had a pastoral component to its economy (Mosiah 2:3). Kolata defines
Pukara as having been an “agro-pastoral society.”442 The Pukara society also possessed a
technical and artistic tradition indicative of what one might expect of the Nephites. Kolata
explains:
The cultural and technological sophistication of Pukara was expressed most

clearly through its impressive architectural achievements and through its
remarkable stone-carving tradition that far surpasses that of Chiripa {Lamanites,
early Tiwanaku (Tiahuanacu)} in terms of technical skill and sophistication in
design. Pukara stone carvers created both full round and flat relief sculptures.
The carvers used champlevée and incision techniques to fashion the relief
carvings on rectangular stone slabs, or stelae. The flat relief sculptures trend to
portray a variety of animals, such as fish, felines, lizards, and serpents, with
incised surface detail representing cosmological or mythical symbols. One stela
with a notched upper end portrays a magnificent human head wearing an
elaborate crown with feather and feline appendages. The sculptures carved in
full round are relatively realistic portraits of humans, most often depicted
holding or wearing trophy heads.443
The Jaredites of Zarahemla
Mosiah learned that a descendant of the Jaredites, Coriantumr, had lived with the people of
Zarahemla. (Omni 1:21). This would suggest, that part of the Jaredites lived and fought their last
battles in the land of Zarahemla. Three archaeological clues indicate that the Jaredites spent
some time at Lake Titicaca.
First, the Nephites found at Zarahemla large stones that had been engraved on by the Jaredites
(Omni 1:20). Not only are large monoliths found at Pukara, but large statues are also found at
Tiahuanacu on the Lamanite site of Lake Titicaca. Dating stone carvings is difficult; however,
they are believed to be associated with the early Pukara and Tiahuanacu periods when it was
possible that the last of the Jaredites were still alive. Urton reports that “Inca informants in the
early years following the Spanish invasion told their conquerors that the statues at Tiahuanaco
442
Kolata (1), 70.
443
Kolata (1), 71-73..
163
represented an earlier race of giants whose origins were in an era before the appearance of the
Inca kings.”444
Second, as noted in chapter four, the Uros Indians of Lake Titicaca still build reed boats that
compare to those the Jaredites would have seen and possibly built in Mesopotamia (Ether
2:16).
Third, the people of Norte Chico, who qualify as candidates for the Jaredites, used a U-shaped
architecture when building their temples.”445 The first settlements in the Lake Titicaca Basin
used this same U-shape design for their sacred temples (from circa 900 BC).446
Climatic Conditions of Zarahemla
Zarahemla had a climate very different from the one Nephi described when his family initially
pitched their tents along the coast and successfully grew seeds from Jerusalem. A close
examination of the eleventh chapter of Helaman indicates three factors about the climate at
Zarahemla: One, it was favorable for growing grain. Two, it was an arid environment where
grain grew only when rains fell. Three, there was a distinctive “season of grain,” thus Zarahemla
had a clearly defined rainy season (Helaman 11:5,6,13,17). These three conditions match the
climatic pattern of the Altiplano where Pukara is located. Palaeo-climatologists from the United
States and Chile have concluded:
Along its central portion (15o – 22o south), the widening of the Andes produces
distinctive meteorological conditions that we refer to as the climate of the
Altiplano. Interest in the climate of the Altiplano has grown in recent decades
because its variability has a strong impact on the availability of water resources
over this semi-arid region and the adjacent lowlands,...447
The annual rainfall over the Altiplano is largely concentrated in the austral
summer months, especially along its southwestern part where more than 70% of
the precipitation occurs from December to February.448
Accordingly, Danish and Bolivian scientists note about the Altiplano: “the onset and the
duration of the rainy season, [indicates] that climate-wise crop production is only possible
during 5 months….”449
Unfortunately, the arrival of the rainy season in the Andes marks the commencement of the
season of sicknesses and death. The Book of Mormon reports that at Zarahemla some “died
444
Urton, 21.
445
Mann, 269.
446
Mann, 258.
447
Garreaud, Rene and Mathiasu Vuille, Amy C. Clements, “The Climate of the Altiplano: observed current
conditions and mechanisms of past changes,” Palaeogeograph, Palaeoclimate, Palaeoecology, Vol. 194, (2003), 6.
448
Ibid, 8.
449
Garcia, M., and D. Raes, S.-E Jacoben, T. Michel, “Agroclimatic constraints for rain fed agriculture in the Bolivian
Altiplano,” Journal of Arid Environments, Vol. 71, Issue 1, (October 2007), Abstract, 109.
164
with fevers, which at some seasons of the year were very frequent”; however, there were
“excellent qualities of the many plants and roots which God had prepared to remove the cause
of diseases (Alma 46:40).” The Canadian Foreign Affairs Ministry warns travelers to Peru that
with the rainy season “water-borne diseases may also become a threat.”450 Indeed water-
related infectious diseases are still the leading cause of death of children on the Altiplano451,
and when the rains wash human and animal waste into the streams and rivers, the water
becomes dangerous for human consumption.452 The New York Times quotes one Peruvian
doctor: “Drinking water is drawn from local creeks of uncertain purity…we go from 80 cases a
month to almost 250 in the rainy season.453” Although many other illnesses are associated with
Andean water, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention calls special attention to Yellow
Fever, Malaria, Hepatitis A, and Hepatitis B.454 Fortunately, God has blessed Peru with some of
the most effective natural medicines known, including Coca leaves, Maca, Cats Claw, Anchiote,
Quinina, Camu Camu, and many others.455
Climatic Variations Associated with Zarahemla
As in the Bible, the history of the Book of Mormon shows how the Lord used climatic changes
to influence the faithfulness of His people. When the Jaredites persecuted the prophets:
…there began a great dearth upon the land, and the inhabitants began to be
destroyed exceedingly fast because of the dearth, for there was no rain upon the
face of the earth, and there came forth poisonous serpents, also upon the face
of the land, and did poison many people, and it came to pass that their flocks
began to flee before the poisonous serpents, toward the land southward, which
was called by the Nephites Zarahemla. And it came to pass that there were many
of them which did perish by the way; nevertheless, there were some which fled
into the land southward. And it came to pass that the people did follow the
course of the beasts, and did devour the carcasses of them which fell by the way,
until they had devoured them all. Now when the people saw that they must
perish they began to repent of their iniquities and cry unto the Lord. (Ether 9:30-
34).
What do we learn from this passage that can help us locate Zarahemla?
450
Canadian Foreign Affairs Ministry, “Peru,” Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada, see Voyage.gc.ca, 15
May 2008.
451
Evans, Timothy, discussion with author, Oakley, Utah, September 2007.
452
During the author’s mission he was warned by the Peruvian Health Ministry and the Peru Mission to not drink
tap water during the rainy season.
453
Nash, Nathaniel C., “Youth Trampled in Peru’s Gold Rush,” quoting Dr. Carlos Manrique, New York Times, World,
17 May 2008, originally printed 26 August 1991, see
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9DOCE4DF1431F935A1575BCOA967958260.
454
Center for Disease Control and Prevention, “Health Information for Travelers to Peru,” 17 May 2008,
http://www.ncdc.gov-health information for Peru .
455
No author stated, “Herbals and Alternative Medicine,” Peru Herbals, 17 May 2008,
http://www.peruherbals.com/3030/medicine.tml
.
165
1. The climate became much drier where the Jaredites were living (in the land
northward).
2. Poisonous snakes left their previous domain and entered the Jaredite lands.
3. The Jaredites had flocks of domesticated animals which fled from the snakes.
4. The people wandered southward, following the “beasts.”
5. The Jaredites started living in a land the Nephites would one day call the land
southward or Zarahemla.
We already know that in all of the Americas only the ruins of Norte Chico in Peru have been
dated to the period of the early Jaredites, and only the Peruvians domesticated flocks. In this
regard, the climatic history of Peru becomes quite informative. Bauer writes:
By around 3000 to 2000 BC, the climate in the Andean highlands was becoming
not unlike that of the modern day [desert coastline/rains in highlands]. In Peru,
the coasts became much drier. and the highlands started getting more regular
rainfall. It may also be during this interval that El Niño events began (Sandweiss
et al. 1996). This had major implications for people and may even be the time
when agriculture began to be firmly established in the Andes. This would be
consistent with the pollen data examined from both Lake Marcacocha
(Chepstow-Lusty et al. 1998) and Lake Paca, as well as macrofossil evidence also
from the Junin area, which indicates cultivation beginning around this time
(Pearsall 1980, 1983; Hansen et al. 1994).456
A likely scenario is that during the famine, the starving Jaredites left the shoreline where the
drought had destroyed their crops and the snakes had scattered their sheep (alpacas). To
forestall starvation they followed the wild camelids and deer, which live in the high Andes. As
the drought worsened, the wild animals would have wandered higher into the Andes in search
of fodder. It would also seem likely that the beasts followed the rains southward. Once in the
land southward (the southern quarter, which included the Lake Titicaca Basin) the Jaredites
finally humbled themselves and the rains returned. Whether the Jaredite migration to
Zarahemla occurred during the climate change between 3000-2000 BC or during a subsequent
drought cycle, we can only speculate. What is known is that Peru is famous for its droughts and
that super droughts occurred in Peru around 1500 BC, 900 BC, and 700 BC457
The snakes mentioned in Ether could have been any number of poisonous snakes found in
Peru, including vipers and coral snakes. Perhaps the most likely candidate would have been the
Ecuadorian coral snake (micrurus bocourti) which lives in the moist lands of Ecuador. If the
coastline of northern Peru had been moist like today’s Ecuadorian shores on Peru’s immediate
north, then as the climate changed and the mangrove forests disappeared, the snakes could
have left the dried marshes and invaded the irrigated pastoral lands of the Jaredites.
456
Bauer, 25.
457
Bauer, 29.
166
Of course, the drought that brought the Jaredites to Zarahemla was not the only climate change
that affected the land of Zarahemla. In approximately 18 BC, and in response to Nephi’s
prayers, the Lord causes a:
…work of destruction…(that) became sore by famine. And the work of destruction

did also continue in the seventy and fifth year [circa 17 BC]. For the earth was
smitten that it was dry, and did not yield forth grain in the season of grain; and the
whole earth was smitten, even among the Lamanites as well as among the
Nephites, so that they were smitten that they did perish by the thousands in the
more wicked parts of the land (Helaman 11:5-6).
The Lord lifted the drought circa 16 BC (Helaman 11:17). Scientists have found evidence that a
major climatic shift occurred in the Andes starting at the same period. Bauer notes that three
distinct periods of climatic changes, the “third phase developing between 10 BC and AD 100.
These phases may reflect general drought conditions for the region during these periods.”458
La Niña – The East Wind
Placing the Nephites high in the Peruvian Andes provides a possible insight into another
climatic phenomenon mentioned in the Book of Mormon. Speaking for the Lord, the Book of
Mormon prophet Abinadi called the Nephites to repent, “…lest I will smite this my people with
sore afflictions, yea with famine and with pestilence; and I will cause that they shall howl all the
day long” (Mosiah 12:4).
This prophecy is a probable indication that the Lord would bring the dreaded El Niño drought to
the Andes. The El Niño occurs when the waters of Pacific Ocean off the coast of Peru warm. The
warmer waters cause the east winds that cross Peru to subside. As a result, unusually large
amounts of rain fall along the coast; however, the moist air from the Amazon can no longer
cross over the eastern Andes, and the inhabited highland valleys experience drought
conditions. Abinadi further warned the Nephites that if the drought did not cause them to
repent, the Lord would also: “send forth hail among them, and it shall smite them” (Mosiah
12:6). Having spent over a year as a missionary in the Andes at altitudes between 10,000 and
12,500 ft. above sea level, I was smitten by hail on a regular basis. Indeed one evening in
Juliaca, Peru, I walked through four inches of hailstones.
Hail following a drought suggests that if the people did not repent, the Lord would cause an
even greater curse to come upon the people. That is, large amounts of moisture would fall on
the scorched earth. If so, the result would be devastating. Abinadi continued: “they shall also be
smitten with the east wind” (Mosiah 12:6). Abinadi explained that unlike the slow death from
famine, “the east wind…bringeth immediate destruction” (Mosiah 7:31).
What many people do not realize is that the El Niño that brings severe drought to the Andes
highlands has a wicked sister called La Niña, which causes the exact opposite effect.
Occasionally a dry El Niño weather oscillation in the Andes is followed by a very moist La Niña
458
Bauer, 26.
167
weather pattern.459 According to the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
(NOAA): “during La Niña, the easterly trade winds strengthen and cold upwellings along the
equator and the West coast of South America intensify. Sea-surface temperatures along the
equator can fall as much as 7 degrees F below normal.”460 As a result, the strong east wind
brings abnormal levels of moisture across the Andes from the Amazon, causing heavy rainfall,
hail, and flooding. The heavy and sustained downpours preceded by a long drought that causes
the lands to be parched and barren is a formula for “immediate destruction” (Mosiah 7:31).”
A La Niña devastated the southern Andes in 2001. A long-lasting rainfall caused widespread
flooding and erosion. The storm is known as the great Atacama flood of 2001. The International
Red Cross reported that in Bolivia alone the flood affected 238,700 people. The greatest impact
was caused by overflowing rivers.461 With ancient Cuzco (city of Nephi) and Pukara (Zarahemla)
having been built beside rivers, the fear of an increase in the east wind must have been very
real to the cities’ inhabitants.
Further, according to Abinadi the east wind brought with it more than just immediate
destruction from hail and flooding on the Nephites’ crops. Abinadi’s prophecy continues,
“…smitten with the east wind and insects shall pester their land and also devour their grain.” In
other words, the coming of the east wind could easily be directly associated with pests
devouring their crops. While locust swarms are relatively rare in Peru, they do occur after heavy
rains.462 With the La Niña rains, above normal levels of grass appear, which allow the locust
swarms to form.
Pukara, the City of Zarahemla
Approximately fifty miles northwest of Lake Titicaca and resting below an impressive pinkish
sandstone outcrop known as the Peñon are the ruins of the ancient city of Pukara. First viewed
by a westerner in 1540 or 1550, Pedro de Cieza de León reported: “What I saw at Pucará were
great buildings in ruin and decay and many statues of stone in the shape of human figures and
other noteworthy things.”463 A similar account was made in 1681 by Antonio Vásques de
Espinosa who described the cities remains as “…their marvelous works—there were great
proud buildings with many stone statues in the likeness of men and other creatures, very neatly
worked.”464 The website of the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art states: “…ca. 200 BC
Pukara is the largest settlement in the Altiplano north of Lake Titicaca, covering approximately
900 acres. U-Shaped courts flanked by fine masonry structures are part of the complex. Three-
459
Ronchail, Josyane & Robert Gallaire, “ENSO and rainfall along the Zongo valley (Bolivia) from the Altiplano to
the Amazon basin”, Smithsonian/NASA ADS Physics Abstract Service,
http://absabs.harvard.edu/abs/2006IJCli..26.1223R, 3 December 2007, 1.
460
US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, "Answers to La Niña" asked questions,
http://www.elnino.noaa.gov/lanina_new_faq.html, 3 December 2007, 1.
461
International Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), “Bolivia Floods Appeal No. 05/01 Situation Report
No. 3". http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900sid/OCHA-64BQ3E?OpenDocument, 3 December 2007, 1.
462
Cviic, Stephen “Peru battles locust plague”, BBC NEWS, http://bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/800771.stm, 3
December 2007, 1.
463
Cieza de León,, 277-278.
464
Cieza de León, 238.
168
dimensional stone sculptures depict blocky humans with accentuated ribs and prominent
square eyes. Ceramics are slip painted in red, black, white, and yellow, with incisions outlining
motifs of frontal humans, spotted cats, llamas and geometric patterns.”465
Although today little remains of the ancient Pukara, its original size of 900 acres is over four
times the size of Old Jerusalem (220 acres).
The Nephites migrated to Zarahemla sometime around 205 BC466 Kolata writes: “In the period
between 200 BC and AD 200, Pukara grew to truly urban proportions (Mulica 1978) and took on
a distinctly cosmopolitan character, with elegant public buildings and finely constructed private
houses…. There is little doubt that Pukara was, at one time, one of the most important cities of
the southern Andes—a major religious and secular power.”467 Klarich confirms: “The dates have
been published in a variety of contexts as the temporal limits of the Classic Pukara (200 BC-AD
200) culture for their association with highly decorative, polychrome, incised ceramics.”468
Bauer notes: “During the Qotakalli Period [Cuzco chronology AD 200-600], the site of Pucara
(Pukara), approximately 200 kilometers [120 miles] southeast of Cuzco in the Peruvian Altiplano
near Lake Titicaca, reaches its largest area of influence. It is widely believed that Pucara was the
center of one of the earliest and largest complex societies in the south-central Andes.”469
Given the current body of archaeological data, Pukara stands out as a likely candidate for the
city of Zarahemla and the center of the Church of Jesus Christ in the Andes during the
Zarahemla period (Alma 6:1,7). In March 1970, I was a missionary in the small city of Juliaca on
the northern side of the Lake Titicaca Basin. My assigned mission area included the ruins of
Pukara, just 30 miles northwest of Juliaca. At that time, the Peruvian Altiplano cities of Juliaca
and Puno were still part of the Bolivian Mission. That month Elder Steve Farnsworth, the
Mission’s Public Relations Representative, received a surprising response to a letter he had sent
(with a copy of a mission paper called “Mormon”) to President Joseph Fielding Smith. At the
time, President Smith was serving as the Prophet, Seer, and Revelator of the Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints. Mission President Keith Roberts had the letter included in the
mission’s monthly newsletter. He introduced President Smith’s correspondence in these words:
“The following letter from President Joseph Fielding Smith was received by Elder Steve
Farnsworth in March 1970. It was written March 18, 1970. I think that it is an important
statement for this Mission and should be part of your permanent record. Read it often and it
will give you a boost in your work.”
Dear Brother Farnsworth,
Thank you for your kind letter of March 11, 1970, which just arrived from Bolivia
together with a copy of the paper called “Mormon.”
465
The Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York), “Timeline of Art History, Central and Southern Andes, 1000 BC—
1.AD, http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/ht/04/sac/ht04/sac.htm. (February 12, 2007), 2.
466
Kocherhans, Nephi to Zarahemla, 112.
467
Kolata, The Tiwanaku: Portrait of an Andean Civilization, 70,71.
468
Klarich, 62.
469
Bauer, 50.
169
I am very pleased to know that you are having wonderful success in your field of
labor. No doubt a paper in Spanish in that country dealing with the doctrines of
the Church would be a great help to you. There is no reason that I know that you
should not have remarkable success in that field which at one time was the
central country occupied by the people in the Book of Mormon times as we learn
from the Book of Mormon. It is my judgment that the missionaries would have
remarkable success in this section of the country.
It is indeed a pleasure for me to get a communication from that Land which at

one time was headquarters of the Church in Book of Mormon history.
May the Lord continue to bless you and your companions and open the doors
before you that you may teach the people. I humbly pray.
Sincerely your brother
Joseph Fielding Smith, President
JFS.re
Other than Pukara, there was no other antiquity site within the March 1970 Bolivia Mission
boundaries that could qualify as a serious candidate for Zarahemla. At the time I first read
President Smith’s letter, I found it interesting that the prophet referred to the “Land” of the
mission instead of simply stating that “Bolivia” had once been the headquarters of the Church.
A likely explanation is that the headquarters of the ancient church had been in the “Land” of
the Bolivian Mission, but not in Bolivia itself. In March 1970, there were only two cities that
were part of the mission “Land,” but were not in Bolivia. They were the cities of Puno on the
shore of Lake Titicaca and Juliaca near the ruins of Pukara. Juliaca is today a Latter-day Saint
oasis on the Altiplano, perhaps a rebirth of Zarahemla. When Elders Glenn Kimball, Timothy
Evans, and I served in Juliaca in 1970, the town had an LDS branch that consisted of about only
thirty members, ten of which we had baptized. Today the city of only two hundred thousand
people has two LDS stakes and a district.
The Temple of Zarahemla
The city of Zarahemla was of great importance to the people of the Book of Mormon. During
part of its occupation, the city served as the Nephite capital and the center of the church (Alma
6:7). It also contained the Church’s central temple (Mosiah 1:18). In comparison, Pukara’s
public buildings were dominated by a massive temple that was erected on man-made terraces.
The Pukara ceremonial structure, called the Qalasaya, was built with dressed-stone blocks. Its
three large inner courts were flanked by smaller rooms. Klarich provides this description of the
massive structure:
The Qalasaya complex consists of a series of stone-lined terraces and platforms

rising steeply 32 m (105 feet) over the central pampa. The complex is in the form
170
of a truncated step-pyramid with both straight and curved walls, a series of
variously sized platforms, and a variety of interesting architectural features,
many of which are only partially exposed. On the uppermost platform is a series
of three sunken courts running north-south that vary slightly in form,
orientation, and scale. The Copesco excavations fully exposed the terrace walls
and platforms that measure 315m (1033 feet) north-south and 300m (984 feet)
east-west and reconstructed the main central staircase (Wheeler and Mujica
1981).470
The entrance is off-center on the eastern side of the structure and each of the
walls has a central stone-lined burial chamber (Mohr-Chávez 1988).471
Having three large rooms adjacent to smaller chambers and a single doorway on the east, the
Pukara temple complex hints of having associations to true temple services. Likewise, it appears
from the artifacts that have been found at the temple that the people of Pukara worshiped a
god with a human body.472 Stone statues portray their god with human-head images with rayed
appendages (artistic convention used in Old World art to symbolize divinity). Other Pukara
artifacts include remains of sacrificed burnt offerings on ceremonial burners, and stone images
of the Yaya-Uma (Adam and Eve) religion.473
The Pukara Temple’s Public Meeting Grounds
The Pukara temple complex was unusual in that it featured a large open space where great
numbers of people congregated on the western side of the temple. Anthropologist Klarich
found this area significant and describes the large open field in these words: “The central
pampa (large grass-covered plain) abuts the easternmost, lowest level of the imposing Qalasaya
complex and expands to cover an area at least 300 m x 300 m (approximately 1 million square
feet). The multiple tiers of the stone-lined terraces of the Qalasaya [Temple] rises dramatically
above the expanse of this area….”474 Standing on the east side of the temple that was adjacent
to the central pampa, the great temple walls would also have provided an acoustical sounding
board for a speaker.
The temple’s public grounds (central pampa) brings to mind the temple at Zarahemla where “a
great number even so many that they did not number them [gathered at the temple]; for they
had multiplied exceedingly and waxed great in the land” (Mosiah 2:2) Undoubtedly, the large
public area at the Pukara temple could have accommodated the tents the Nephites pitched
next to the Zarahemla temple with their doors opening toward the temple so they could hear
the words of King Benjamin (Mosiah 2:6-7).
470
Klarich, 57.
471
Klarich, 58.
472
Klarich, 65.
473
Klarich, 19.
474
Klarich, 6.
171
The public area at the Pukara temple had other features that are of interest in our attempt to
identify Zarahemla. These are man-made mounds that were built on the perimeters of the
temple’s public grounds. There were seven mounds in all.475 In the Book of Mosiah we learn
that there were so many people gathered at the temple to hear King Benjamin that not all
could hear his voice, so he had a tower constructed. However, even with the aid of a tower his
words could not be heard by all the people, so he had his words read throughout the great
congregation (Mosiah 2:8). Obviously, in that day a large number of copies could not have been
transcribed in one day. However, a few copies of his speech could have been made and then
read at various locations in the congregation. From atop the seven mounds that are located at
the perimeter of the public grounds, readers could have spread the king’s message to a large
multitude.
Zarahemla in the image of the Benevolent King Benjamin
Some readers of the Book of Mormon might question if the beloved King Benjamin was “too
good” a person to have been a real historical king? So “inclusive” was he as a ruler, that he took
laborious steps to make sure that “all” the people could participate in the meeting which he
called them to at the Zarahemla temple. Throughout antiquity, it is hard to find kings who
expressed real concern for their people and who cared in the least about the opinions of their
subjects. Yet there is archaeological evidence that “inclusive” kings actually ruled Pukara during
its early period. Anthropologist Klarich studied the leadership strategies of the Pukara rulers.
She explains:
The study of alternative leadership strategies has become a major avenue for
tracing the development of institutional inequality in complex societies
across the globe. In the Lake Titicaca Basin in Peru and Bolivia, the Later
Formative period (500 BC-AD 400) is characterized by the development of
two regional population centers, Pukara in the northwest {Nephites} and
Tiwanaku (Tiahuanacu) in the southeast {Lamanites}. The site of Pukara, the
subject of the present study, is typically identified with the features of the
Qalasaya complex, {the Pukara temple compound} a series of massive
terraced platforms with sunken, stone-lined structures, and the presence of
sophisticated polychrome pottery and carved monoliths….
The Qalasaya complex and several artificial mounds can be used to trace a
shift from inclusive {King Benjamin leadership style} to exclusive leadership
strategies at Pukara. The central pampa was originally used as a public space
dedicated to the preparation and consumption of suprahousehold-level
means and was an integral element of inclusive leadership strategies during
the site’s early development. Over time, as the monumental architecture of
the Qalasaya was reconstructed and ritual activities became more restricted,
475
Chávez, S.J., The Conventionalize Rules in Pucara Pottery Technology and Iconography : Implications of Socio-
Political Development in the Northern Titicaca Basin, Unpublished Ph.D. Dissertation, Michigan State University, 49.
172
the central pampa was “cut off” and relegated to the periphery of the
ceremonial district.476
In other words, the earliest rulers in Pukara, which would be comparable in our scenario to
Zarahemla’s first Nephite kings—Mosiah and Benjamin—had “inclusive” leadership styles. That
is, they treated their people as equals and brought them into the decision-making processes by
talking directly to the people and consulting with them. Since inclusive leaders were rare in
antiquity, the architecture of Pukara provides additional evidence that it is a candidate for
Zarahemla. By any measure of ancient politics, King Benjamin was unique among ancient
leaders. He was so “inclusive” that it appears his temple architecture was designed to allow all
his people to hear his words and consult with him. King Benjamin said:
I have not commanded you to come up hither that ye should fear me, or that ye
should think that I of myself am more than a mortal man (Mosiah 2:10).
But I am like as yourselves, subject to all manner of infirmities in body and mind;
yet I have been chosen by this people, and consecrated by my father that I
should be a ruler and a king over this people; and have been kept and preserved
by his matchless power, to serve you with all the might, mind and strength which
the Lord hath granted unto me (bold added, Mosiah 2:11).
I say unto you that as I have been suffered to spend my days in your service,
even up to this time, and have not sought gold nor silver nor any manner of
riches of you… (Mosiah 2:12).
And it came to pass that when king Benjamin had thus spoken, he sent among
them, desiring to know of his people if they believed the words which he had
spoken unto them. And they all cried with one voice, saying: Yea, we believe the
words which thou hast spoken unto us… (bold added, Mosiah 5:1, 2).
King Benjamin’s father, Mosiah, appears to have held similar “all inclusive” meetings. He
“assembled together [all the Nephites], and also all the people of Zarahemla, and they were
gathered together in two bodies. And it came to pass that Mosiah did read, and caused to be
read, the records of Zeniff to his people” (Mosiah 25:4,5) .
The archaeological theories of the public grounds next to the Pukara temple certainly bring to
mind the events cited in the Book of Mormon, where the kings spoke from the temple walls
toward an open field where their people camped in tents and listened to the words of their
righteous king. Once the address was completed, the king would then walk into the
congregation and receive their council. Klarich proposes:
The central pampa was an area of interaction in the central ceremonial district
and is used to infer both the motivations of early leaders and the role of the local
population in the negotiation of social power.477
476
Klarich, xii, xiii.
173
While superficially the area is unimpressive relative to the architectural grandeur
of the surrounding mounds and terraces of the Qalasaya complex, the pampa
was a dynamic, bustling area within the central district. Originally used as a
public space such as a plaza, bustling area, the pampa was a vital element of the
central ceremonial district during the site’s early development….478
Based on the public setting of these activities and a lack of highly specialized
serving vessels in most areas, the material remains of these events are most
consistent with the expectations developed for patron-role or entrepreneurial
feasts (Dietler 1966), both elements of inclusionary leadership strategies) .479
…Patron-role feasts and entrepreneurial feasts are inclusionary events in which

“hosts attempt to promote solidarity and equality by widely casting invitations to
community members and supporters (LeCount 2001:935).480
Zarahemla, the Fortress City
When the Nephites were threatened, they withdrew from their outer cities and villages and
fled to the city of Zarahemla (3 Nephi 3:22,23). The prophet General, Mormon, tells us that
when he was eleven years old, his father carried him “into the land southward, even to the land
of Zarahemla” (Mormon 1:6). Two verses later, he provides the probable reason why they
gathered to Zarahemla, “in this year there began to be a war between the Nephites…and the
Lamanites” (Mormon 1:8). From the limited description we have of Zarahemla, the city must
have enjoyed important natural defenses.
Some of Zarahemla’s natural defenses are described in the Book of Alma when the Amlicites
attacked Zarahemla. To the east of the city was the hill Amnihu. Between the hill and the city
ran the river Sidon, which “ran by the land of Zarahemla” (Alma 2:15). Since the river ran north-
south, and the hill Amnihu was on the east side, it would appear that the hill Manti, which was
near Zarahemla (Alma 1:15), must have been on the city’s west side. Since the city was
protected by the river Sidon, the hills on both flanks, and of course the man-made fortifications
of the Nephites, we see why it was written of the Lamanites that “neither durst they march
down against the city of Zarahemla” (Alma 56:25). As a matter of curiosity, in Bedouin Arabic,
which evolved in part from Egyptian, the words Zara hamla mean “the flower to leave alone.”
No one knows the ancient name of the ruins the archaeologists now call Pukara. However, the
geographic setting of Pukara would fit well into what we know of Zarahemla. Nestled in a
valley, there is a large hill to the city’s east.
477
Klarich, 11.
478
Klarich, 12.
479
Klarich, 262.
480
Klarich, 75.
174
The entire east approach to the city was blocked by the Pukara River, and to its immediate
west, and rising directly above the temple were the sheer cliffs of hill Llallahhua (a hill whose
Quechua name encompasses the Arabic name of god, Allah).
With such natural barriers to invasion, it is easy to see why in the Quechua language the name
“Pukara” means “the stronghold or fortress.”481 The ancient city was a natural place of refuge
from enemy attack.
From the Zarahemla period we learn of several expeditions by the Nephites. For example,
Ammon’s small party found the city of Nephi, freed their Nephite brothers and sisters, and
returned with them successfully to Zarahemla. Alma and his converts made a similar exodus to
Zarahemla. There were also several wars described in the Book of Mormon, including a battle
for Zarahemla. The author, who has traveled extensively in the area, believes that all the
movements mentioned in the Book of Mormon are in complete harmony with the geography of
Peru. Detailed maps of these movements are found in my book, Nephi in the Promised Land.
Samuel’s Walls
One of the most inspiring events in the Book of

Mormon is the visit of the Lamanite prophet
Samuel to Zarahemla. Before leaving the city,
the brave Lamanite climbed the walls of
Zarahemla and boldly called the wicked
Nephites to repentance (Helaman 13). The
Nephites shot arrows at him, yet they could not
hit the prophet. The events of Samuel’s visit fit
well into the layout of the city of Pukara, with
terraced temple walls reaching over one
hundred feet and extending from the west side
of the temple up to the mountains at the back
Figure 37 Matthew Potter standing on terrace walls of of Pukara. The setting would have provided
Pukara temple considerable space between the prophet and
his attackers, allowing him enough time to
declare his prophecies before they could reach him. Once having finished speaking, Samuel
could escape without having to pass through the city; that is, he could proceed west by climbing
over the hills on the backside of the temple complex. Klarich notes that “the earliest direct
evidence of stone-lined terrace construction is at Pukara, but in this context such construction
was used in building retaining walls for the massive platforms of the Qalasaya {temple}
complex.” 482 Archaeologist Mary Kidder provided this impression of Pukara: “The most
481
Klarich, 51, quoting Rowe: J.H. Rowe, "Sitios históricos en la region de Pucara, Puno", Revisita del Instituto
Arqueológico 6(10/11): 66-75).
482
Klarich, 40.
175
apparent feature is a series of terraces, built with rough stone retaining walls, just southeast of
the modern town and almost under the cliff of a great rock.”483
The Rebuilding of Zarahemla
As a whole, the people of Zarahemla did not take to

heart Samuel’s warning, causing the wicked city of
Zarahemla to be burned at Christ’s death (3 Nephi
8:8, 24). Subsequently, the righteous Nephite nation
that followed rebuilt the great city (4 Nephi 1:8).
Though only a very small percentage of Pukara has
been excavated, there are early indications of the city
having burned. Klarich notes of the limited
excavations at Pukara:
Block 3: The fill range from 5-20 cm. thick and

contained burned and unburned refuse Late Formative period {BC 500-AD 400}
oriented at all angles. The soil was moist and loose with a high density of fired
clay (10-20%).484
Underlying deposits included different color clays, a limited number of artifacts,

and a substantial concentration of burned wooden beam fragments.485
Furthermore, as the Book of Mormon states of Zarahemla, archaeologists have determined that
the temple of Pukara was reconstructed sometime between 200 BC and AD 100.486
The sunken cities of the land of Zarahemla
Immediately preceding Christ’s appearance in the New World, Zarahemla and other cities
burned to the ground. Other towns were completely or to a great degree destroyed (3 Nephi
8:10,14,15). Many cities sank “into the depths of the sea and the inhabitants thereof were
drowned,” including the city of Moroni which was built near the shore of the “east sea” (3
Nephi 8:9,14; Alma 50:13).
So where are the submerged remains of these Book of Mormon cities? Apparently, they are
exactly where the Book of Mormon indicates they should be, deep under the waters of the
“east sea,” that is, cocha Titicaca (sea or Lake Titicaca).
The Native Peruvians have always claimed there are lost cities beneath the surface of Lake
Titicaca. The early Spanish chronicler Pedro Cieza de León wrote that the native people talked
of many cities now submerged in Lake Titicaca that had once been ruled by a man call Zapana.
483
Kidder, Mary B., No Limits but the Sky: The Journal of an Archaeologist's Wife in Peru. (Cambridge, MA: Harvard
University Press, 1942), 342.
484
Klarich, 165.
485
Klarich, 310.
486
Klarich, 63, 260..
176
487
Zapana is a possible corrupted spelling of the Book of Mormon names Zarahemla,
Zerahemnah. or Zeram.
Searching for the remains of the lost cities in Lake Titicaca has been extremely difficult because
of the lake’s extreme altitude (12,500 feet above sea level) and its great depth (922 feet).
Underwater archaeology at that altitude requires special equipment, training. and conditioning.
While earlier observation had discovered underwater fences and terraces in the large Peruvian
side of the lake, it wasn’t until 2000 that a major discovery was made in the lago menor, the
lake’s smaller sub-basin on the Bolivian side of the lake. In a BBC News article “Ancient temple
found under Lake Titicaca,” scientists reported finding a submerged temple complex in the
waters just off of the town of Copacabana in Bolivia.
The ruins of an ancient temple have been found by international archaeologists

under Lake Titicaca, the world’s highest (navigable) lake.
A terrace for crops, a long road, and a 800-meter (2,600 feet) long wall was also
found under the waters of the lake, sited in the Andes mountains between
Bolivia and Peru.
Dating back 1,000 to 1,500 years ago, the ruins are pre-Incan.
They have been attributed to the indigenous Tiwanaku or Tiahuanaco people,

said Lorenzo Epis, the Italian scientist leading the Atahuallpa 2000 scientific
expedition.
The holy temple measures 200m by 50m (660ft by 160ft), almost twice the size
of an average football pitch.
More than 200 dives were made into the lake, to depths of as much as 30m
(100ft), to record the ruins on film.488
The Bolivian archaeologist who was part of the Atahuallpa 2000 expedition believes that the
submerged structure found during the expedition could date as far back as 1500 - 2000 BC489,
the era of the Jaredites on the Altiplano (see chapter sixteen). Two years later, a bi-national
expedition from Bolivia and Belgium started the first major archaeological project to survey the
Bolivian side of the lake, the lago menor, for archaeological sites. The project was sponsored by
the Andean Centre of Underwater Archaeology (ARUA), the Université Libre de Bruxelles, and
the Bolivian Ministry of Cultural Affairs.490 In an article titled “Uncovering the 2000 Year Old
487
Cieze de León, Pedro, Segunda Parte de la Crónica del Perú, , (Madrid: Tomo V de la Biblioteca Hispano-
Utramarina, 1880), 18-19.
488
BBC News, “Ancient temple found under Lake Titicaca,” http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/892616.stm,
accessed 3 May 2018.
489
http://www1.rionegro.com.ar//arch200111/s23g01.html, accessed 3 May, 2018.
490
Andean Centre of Underwater Archaeology – ACUA, https://casaph13.wordpress.com/about/, accessed 3 May
2018.
177
Underwater Ruins of Lake Titicaca,” the author notes that the first year of the project recovered
2,000 artifacts. During the second year the findings were truly amazing:
Thanks to preliminary explorations in April of 2012 (Geophysical explorations)

and in February 2013 (in situ explorations), 6 immerse archaeological sites were
located in the smaller sub-basin of the lake and identified as potentially
promising.
They exhibited strong evidence of artifacts and built structures linked to

domestic and ceremonial functions…491
Six submerged archaeological communities and temples in just the small part of the lake! As the
title of the article announces, some of the sites are estimated to be 2,000 years old – the exact
period when the Book of Mormon cities were destroyed.
It is becoming apparent that Lake Titicaca is dotted with sunken cities. The Peruvian and much
larger side of the lake, has yet to be surveyed by a team of professional archaeologists. During
my mission I served on the Altiplano in Peru just a few miles from Lake Titicaca. The locals told
me many rumors of lost cities under the waters of the great lake. The French explorer Simone
Waisbard recorded over several years the experiences of Uru fishermen who worked the
waters of the Peruvian side of the lake. She reported that the fishermen testified of an entire
city protruding above the surface of the lake during periods of drought when the water-level
dropped 13 feet.492 As far back as 1877, the American archaeologist 493George Squier reported
finding ruins submerged in the northern part of the lake near the Sillustani Peninsula. Squier
was of the opinion that the structures he found were originally constructed above the
waterline, but that an earthquake made the land subside. Reports of finding submerged
megalithic ruins were reported by the Commandant of the Peruvian Navy, Antonio Rodríques.
Finally, academic Dr. Esqinoza Sorano saw beneath the waters of the Peruvian side of Titicaca,
“temples of the Sun and Moon, of monolithic stones…pre-Inca architects who belonged to a
totally submerged civilization.”494
Something catastrophic happened on the Altiplano of Peru and Bolivia, and it happened during
Book of Mormon times. Cities like Pukara and Taraco burned to the ground (see next chapter).
The cities like Moroni and satellite communities were instantly submerged and their inhabitants
drowned. We can only speculate on how the Lord caused these events to unfold. What we do
know is that Peru is located on the Pacific Rim of fire; it has several large active volcanoes; and
is subject to major earthquakes. While I was serving my mission in Peru in 1970, one
earthquake alone killed over 70,000 Peruvians. In our quest to discover the lost city of Moroni,
491
World, “Uncovering the 2000 Year Old Underwater Ruins of Lake Titicaca,”
https://www.incaworldtravel.com/eng/news/uncovering-the-2000-year-old-underwater-ruins-of-lake-titicaca-36/,
accessed 3 May 2018.
492
Waisbard, Simone, Tiauanaco, Diez Mil Años de Enigmas Incas, (Mexico City: Edición Diana, 1987), 59-60.
493
Ibid, 101-102.
494
Ibid.
178
the problem will not be finding a city submerged in Lake Titicaca, the problem will be deciding
which of the submerged cities was Moroni.
Once again, the question needs to be addressed, “How could Joseph Smith have known of
these catastrophes when the archaeological record of these events has only come to light in the
past two decades?”
The last hours of Zarahemla
Like Pukara, the Nephite civilization ended circa 400 BC, and with it Zarahemla ceased to exist.
If the Nephites and Lamanites co-existed on the Altiplano, it was never a peaceful affair.
Archaeological evidences suggest that the Pukara and Tiahuanacu civilizations seldom mixed.
Ciezo de León was informed by the Indians that:
Many of these Colla Indians tell that before the rule of the Incas there were two
great lords in their province, one called Zapana [Zarahemla] and the other Cari, and
that they won many purcarás, which are their fortresses. And that one of them
entered the lake of Titicaca, and found on the largest island of that body of water
bearded white men with whom he fought until he had killed all of them. 495
If Pukara was Zarahemla, then the archaeological record of the ancient city should provide clues
to help us understand the nature of Zarahemla’s final demise, and perhaps even how those
living in the city might have experienced their final hours.
The ceramic evidence found in the ruins of Pukara indicates that the city with its temples and
great walls was abandoned circa 380 AD. Ernest Oshige outlines the Pukara archaeological
sequences: “The chronological sequence of ceramic styles of the northern basin would be as
follows… Initial Pukara (500-200 BC) Middle Pukara (200 BC-100 AD) and finally Pukara Late
(100-380 A.D.)”496 [bold added].
Besides determining that Pukara was abandoned circa 380 A.D., archaeologists have found
evidences that the city was evacuated in a manner consistent with that of Nephite cities at that
time. Oshige writes, “Site abandonment and collapse of Pukara, “Epach V is called the
Decadent Pukara occupation and abandonment site, a process that apparently took place
peacefully and quickly.”497 [bold added]
So what possible insights does this evidence give us about the last hours of those who lived in
Zarahemla? Here are my thoughts: The final period of Pukara 100-380 A.D. was referred to as
the “Decadent Pukara” because of the fine pottery and other fine artifacts discovered at the
ruins. This is consistent with the condition of the Nephites before the wars broke out in the
fourth century:
495
Calderwood, 327,
496
Oshige, Ernest David Adams “Earliest Sequence in the Site of Pukara, North Lake Basin Titicaca,” (Lima:
Pontifical Universidad Catolica del Peru, 2000), http://ebookbrowse.com/oshige-2010-pdf-d71084989
Accessed February 2013.
497
Ibid.
179
And now I, Mormon, would that ye should know that the people had multiplied,
insomuch that they were spread upon all the face of the land, and that they had
become exceedingly rich, because of their prosperity in Christ. And now, in this
two hundred and first year there began to be among them those who were lifted
up in pride, such as the wearing of costly apparel, and all manner of fine pearls,
and the fine things of the world. (4 Nephi 1:23:24).
Mormon’s father brought him to Zarahemla from the land Northward when he was eleven
years old (Mormon 1:6). Since Mormon did not mention other members of his family joining
them, it is reasonable to believe that Mormon’s father was a military leader and was
summoned to Zarahemla with only his oldest son to prepare the Nephites at Zarahemla for an
imminent war. Indeed, within months of his father’s arrival in Zarahemla the war had
commenced.
And it came to pass that I, being eleven years old, was carried by my father into
the land southward, even to the land of Zarahemla” (Mormon 1:6). “And it came
to pass in this year there began to be a war between the Nephites, who
consisted of the Nephites and the Jacobites and the Josephites and the
Zoramites; and this war was between the Nephites, and the Lamanites and the
Lemuelites and the Ishmaelites (Mormon 1:7).
I speculate that Mormon’s father (also named Mormon) was a royal prince, chief general, and
foremost defender of the Nephites. We know that Mormon took care to mention on the golden
plates that he, and therefore his father, were pure descendants of Nephi (Mormon 1:5, 3 Nephi
5:20). Declaring their direct decent from Nephi possibly denotes that Mormon’s father was a
prince in charge of the Nephite military and perhaps even the crown prince. If so, it was his
responsibility to mentor his son so that one day he could assume his father’s responsibilities—
thus explaining why his father carried his eleven-year-old son into a land that was preparing for
war.
We know that the decades-long war that eventually ended the Nephite civilization started in
the borders (meaning “mountains") of Zarahemla by the waters of the Sidon river (Mormon
1:10). A range of the Andes Mountains runs north and west of Pukara and along the Pukara
river.
The Book of Mormon implies that the Nephites must have prepared well for the war, which
resulted in a series of victorious battles over their enemy.
And it came to pass that the Nephites had gathered together a great number of
men, even to exceed the number of thirty thousand. And it came to pass that
they did have in this same year a number of battles, in which the Nephites did
beat the Lamanites and did slay many of them (Mormon 1:11).
In defeat, the Lamanites retreated, and peace prevailed for four years in Zarahemla
(Mormon1:12). However, during this short interlude of peace, the Nephites grew in wickedness.
As a result, the Lord took away his beloved disciples, and miracles and healings ceased. It would
180
appear that even if the authority of the priesthood was not taken away, the power of the
priesthood was (Mormon 1:13). The revelations and the Holy Ghost were also removed
(Mormon 1:14). Indeed, so evil were the Nephites, including those at Zarahemla, that Mormon
was visited by the Lord and told that he was forbidden to preach the gospel to the people
(Mormon 1:15-16).
After four years, war broke out again, and this time Mormon, only fifteen years old, is made the
leader of the Nephite armies (presumably still headquartered at Zarahemla). If Mormon’s
father was the previous leader of the armies, then he either refused to lead the wicked
Nephites (like Mormon did three decades later), or perhaps he had been killed or injured in a
previous battle. Being the son of the commander, mentored by his father in warfare, and
having inherited his father’s royal responsibilities, Mormon was selected to lead the army even
though he was only fifteen years old (Mormon 2:1).
By 326 A.D., Mormon was in full charge of the army, but within a year he needed to retreat
from the land of Zarahemla to the land northward where the wars continued (Mormon 2:3).
Eventually the Nephite armies were given the land northward, including the narrow passage
(Mormon 2:29). For the next thirty-six years, Mormon fought the Lamanites in battle after
battle. Finally in his early fifties the great general refused to lead the unrepentant Nephites
(Mormon 3:10-11; Mormon 6:12)
Although the war continued in the lands near the west sea (Mormon 4:1-3,19), Mormon spent
17 years away from the battle field. Since there is no record of a battle having taken place in
Zarahemla, I tend to believe that Mormon had returned to the fortress city of Zarahemla, which
was located far to the southeast (ruins of Pukara). Apparently, during these years, the Nephites
still had a chance to repent and establish a state of co-existence with the Lamanites.
However, sometime around 379 A.D. events turned very bleak for the Nephites (Mormon 5:5).
Mormon, battled scarred and now in his mid-sixties, again took command of Nephite army
(Mormon 5:1). He noted that during this time, “the Nephites did again flee from before them
[the Lamanites], taking all the inhabitants with them, both in towns and villages. And now I,
Mormon, seeing that the Lamanites were about to overthrow the land, therefore I did go to the
hill Shim, and did take up all the records which Ammaron had hid up unto the Lord” (Mormon
4:22-23).”
Thus we read that the Nephites left their towns and fled before the Lamanites. Mormon’s
record gives us the name of many of the cities that were destroyed by the Lamanites; however,
Zarahemla was not one of them. We do not know the year when the Lamanite army
approached the city of Zarahemla; however we can read:
And it came to pass that in the three hundred and eightieth year the Lamanites
did come again against us to battle, and we did stand against them boldly, but it
was all in vain, for so great were their numbers that they did tread the people of
the Nephites under their feet. And it came to pass that we did again take flight,
and those whose flight was swifter than the Lamanites’ did escape, and those
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whose flight did not exceed the Lamanites’ were swept down and destroyed
(Mormon 5:6,7).
Returning to the archaeological record of Pukara, Peru we understand that:
• Pukara was a decadent city during its final two centuries.
• Pukara was abandoned circa 380 A.D.
• Pukara was abandoned quickly and without a battle.
So here’s how I envision the possible last hours of life at Zarahemla: Mormon and his father
had successfully defended the citizens of Zarahemla on several occasions, yet they would not
repent. Around 379 A.D., the people realized that they were about to be destroyed and begged
the old general to defend them once more. When Mormon agreed to take command of the
army, they were relieved. However, theirs was a false hope, and Mormon knew it. He wrote,
“They gave me command again of their armies, for they looked upon me as though I could
deliver them from their afflictions. But behold, I was without hope…” (Mormon 5:1,2).
As the Lamanites approached the city of Zarahemla, Mormon engaged the much larger
Lamanite army before it could reach the walls of the city. Knowing the situation was hopeless,
Mormon’s maneuver was probably designed to give the people of Zarahemla time to gather
provisions and abandon the city. However, most of the people lingered in the once invincible
city. As news reached the citizens of Zarahemla that the Nephite army had to retreat before the
Lamanites, they must have dropped whatever they were doing and fled the city to try to find
refuge in the nearby mountains. Those that could outrun the Lamanites hid in the foothills of
the Andes Mountains, while those that could not died at the hands of the Lamanites before
reaching the mountains. The great city of Zarahemla was quickly abandoned and has remained
in peaceful silence ever since. What happened to its unrepentant citizens was far from serene.
Mormon, who for decades had witnessed the horrible slaughter of war, wrote: “And now
behold, I, Mormon, do not desire to harrow up the souls of men in casting before them such an
awful scene of blood and carnage as was laid before mine eyes” (Mormon 5:8).
Learn more about Zarahemla by reading, Nephi in the Promised Land which can be ordered
through www.nephiproject.com or http://www.cedarfort.com.
182
Great and terrible was the battle thereof,
yea, great and terrible was the slaughter thereof,
insomuch that there never was known so great a
slaughter among all the people of Lehi. 3 Nephi 4:11
Chapter Ten
Taraco, Candidate for the City of Jacobugath

(and its Gadianton Robbers)
Recent excavations in the Peruvian Altiplano have possibly unveiled information about the Book
of Mormon’s tale of two cities. One city struggled with bouts of unrighteousness, while the
other was a full-fledged wicked community. The archaeological discoveries and related
interpretation by Charles Stanish and Abigail Levine of the Cotsen Institute of Archaeology at
the University of California, Los Angeles498 might have helped us identify one of the bloody
battlegrounds mentioned in the Book of Mormon. Their article, a proceeding of the National
Academy of Science in June 2011, would have had gone unnoticed by students of the Book of
Mormon if I had not earlier identified the ruins of Pukara in the northern Titicaca Basin as a
strong candidate for Zarahemla. To understand why I find the Stanish and Levine article so
interesting, let’s follow this line of reasoning: first, review the relationship between Zarahemla
and its enemy, the city of Jacobugath the home of the Gadianton robbers; second, summarize
what the Book of Mormon tells us about Jacobugath; and third, compare the archaeologists'
discoveries at Taraco to what we know about Jacobugath.
Relationship between Zarahemla and the city of Jacobugath
In recounting the destruction that occurred in the land of promise preceding the Lord’s visit to
his people, he said that he burned two “great cities,” the great city of Zarahemla and the great
city of Jacobugath. No other burned cities were described by the Lord as being “great.”
Jacobugath was a wicked city and the home of the Gadianton robbers.
The Gadianton robbers were a gang of brutal raiders who killed and plundered at will (4 Nephi
4:5). In the years preceding the visitation of Christ, we read in the Book of Mormon:
And it came to pass in the thirteenth year since the birth of Christ there began to
be wars and contentions throughout all the land; for the Gadianton robbers had
become so numerous, and did slay so many of the people and did lay waste so
498
Stanish, Charles and Abigail Levine, Cotsen Institute of Archaeology, University of California at Los Angeles,
proceedings of the National Academy of Science, June 2011.
183
many cities, and did spread so much death and carnage throughout the land,
that it became expedient that all the people, both the Nephites and the
Lamanites, should take up arms against them (3 Nephi 2:11).
Despite their number, the robbers were only able to gain significant influence over the
Nephites when the Nephites became wicked themselves (3 Nephi 2:18). Undoubtedly this is
because the order of the Gadianton was an ancient and Satanic brotherhood held together by
secret oaths and combinations (3 Nephi 2:3; 3:9).
Like the ancient Nabateans in the Old World, who became rich by raiding caravans and then
retreating to their mountain hideaway in the hills of Petra, the Gadiantons were “robbers” who
became rich and powerful at the expense of the people of the cities they plundered. In the
decades before Christ's visitation, the Gadianton robbers grew in numbers and strength. They
dwelled in the mountains near Zarahemla from which they raided the Nephite towns and
returned to the vast mountain wilderness of the Andes. When the Nephites slid into greater
wickedness, they lost control of the great city of Jacobugath to the Gadianton robbers and their
antichrist king Jacob (3 Nephi 7:9).
The Lord said of the city of Jacobugath:
And behold, that great city Jacobugath, which was inhabited by the people of
king Jacob, have I caused to be burned with fire because of their sins and their
wickedness, which was above all the wickedness of the whole earth, because of
their secret murders and combinations; for it was they that did destroy the
peace of my people and the government of the land; therefore I did cause them
to be burned, to destroy them from before my face, that the blood of the
prophets and the saints should not come up unto me any more against them (3
Nephi 9:9).
We learn from the Lord that in that day the people of Jacobugath had the singular distinction of
being the most wicked people on earth. They were so evil that He had to destroy them by fire.
Before the demise of Jacobugath, they had caused the loss of peace among the Nephites
through decades of bloody plundering. It was the Nephite members of the Gadianton robbers
exploiting their own Nephite brothers and sisters.
By AD 15 the Gadianton robbers were so strong that they sent an epistle to Lachoneus, the
governor of the Nephites, demanding that he surrender to them or be destroyed (3 Nephi 3).
Lachoneus refused to surrender. Instead, he prepared for war with the robbers by:
(3:12) Crying to the Lord to strengthen his people against the robbers,
(3:13) Gathering his people and their herds,
(3:14) Building fortifications around them and placing guards, and
(3:15-16) Successfully inspiring his people to repent and call upon God for deliverance.
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Lachoneus appointed the great commander Gidgiddoni to head the Nephi armies against the
robbers. When the people requested that Gidgiddoni to “go up *north+ unto the mountains and
into the wilderness” after the robbers, Gidgiddoni said that the Lord forbade him from going
into the mountains where the robbers would destroy them. Rather, Gidgiddoni told the people
“we will prepare ourselves in the center of our lands, and we will gather all our armies
together, and we will not go against them, but we will wait till they shall come against us, if we
do this he *the Lord+ will deliver them into our hands.”(3:21)
North of Pukara [candidate for Zarahemla] is a great mountain wilderness within the Andes
mountains. To the south was Jacobugath near the shore of Lake Titicaca. Thus, being prepared
in the “center” of the land would have signified Pukara (Zarahemla). Indeed, the Book of
Mormon tells us that in 17 AD the Nephites gathered to the land of Zarahemla and the land
between Zarahemla and Bountiful (3 Nephi 3:23).
In 18 AD the Gadianton robbers came down from the mountains to battle against the Nephites,
and also from their stronghold, and from their secret places (3 Nephi 4:1). The Lord identified
the Gadianton “stronghold” as Jacobugath that was to Zarahemla’s south, and it is probable
that their “secret places” indicated that robbers had infiltrated the Nephites communities and
had become insurgents living among the Nephites. Since the Nephites had left their lands
desolate and had gathered to Zarahemla, the Gadiantons had no food to sustain them and were
forced to stop raiding from the wilderness. If so, the robbers would have had to “come up *from
the south probably from their stronghold at Jacobugath+ in open battle against the Nephites” (3
Nephi 4:4-5). In the sixth month, the robbers came “up” for battle and “great and terrible was
the slaughter thereof, insomuch that there never was known so great a slaughter among all the
people of Lehi since he left Jerusalem” (3 Nephi 4:11).
The Nephites defeated the robbers, “insomuch that they *robbers+ did fall back from before
them” *back to the south from whence they came] (3 Nephi 4:12). The Nephites pursued the
Gadiantons “to the border of the wilderness” (3 Nephi 4:13). We read in Alma that the land of
Zarahemla bordered “by a narrow strip of wilderness, which ran from the sea east *Lake
Titicaca] even to the sea west, and round about the borders of the seashore” *of Lake Titicaca+
(Alma 22:27). This leads to the possibility that the Nephites pursued the robbers back south to
the shoreline of Lake Titicaca where the city of Jacobugath appears to have been located.
In the decade preceding the Lord’s visit, many of the cities that had been destroyed during the
bloody Gadianton war were rebuilt (3 Nephi 6:7). We can assume that this included the
Gadianton stronghold at Jacobugath, because it was referred to as a great city when the Lord
appeared to the Nephites in AD 34. Although the Nephites became temporarily righteous after
their deliverance by the Lord during the Gadianton war, by AD 29 they are described as being
“lifted up unto pride and boastings because of their exceeding great riches….there were many
merchants in the land…people began to be distinguished by ranks, according to their riches and
their chances for learning….And thus there became a great inequality in all the land, insomuch
as the church began to be broken up” (3 Nephi 6:10-14).
185
When Jesus Christ died on the cross, Jacobugath and other cities were burned or destroyed by
other means because of their wickedness. Since Jacobugath was the most evil of all cities (3
Nephi 9:9), we can assume that the pride, boasting, and distinguishing according to rank and
riches were part of the reason Jacobugath was destroyed by fire.
After the Lord’s visit to the promised land many of the cities that were burned at his coming
were rebuilt (4 Nephi 1:7-8). In this later era the Nephites and Lamanites “had all things
common among them; therefore there were no rich and poor”(4 Nephi 1:3). Since there were
“no rich,” it is likely that there was no industry of luxury goods for at least 200 years after the
Lord's visit.
From the time of Christ's visit to 200 AD – “There was no contention in the land, because of the
love of God which did dwell in the hearts of the people. And there were no envyings, nor
strifes, nor tumults, nor whoredoms, nor lyings, nor murders, nor any manner of lasciviousness;
and surely there could not be a happier people among all the people who had been created by
the hand of God (4 Nephi 1:15-16).
However, by 201 AD the people began to be prideful, “wearing of costly apparel, and manner of
fine pearls, and of fine things of the world (4 Nephi 1:24), no more goods and substances in
common (vs. 25), and divided into classes and to build up churches unto themselves to get gain
(v 26).
What we know about Jacobugath
Though we cannot be certain about the events that took place at Jacobugath, the Book of
Mormon narrative provides this possible picture of their history:
1. Jacobugath along with Zarahemla were “great cities” at the time of Christ.
2. At one time the city was the stronghold of the Gadianton robbers.
3. The Gadianton robbers were a secret band of thieves who became rich by plundering
and murdering their Nephi brothers; thus, there stronghold must have contained the icons of
the rich.
4. Jacobugath had to be south of Zarahemla because the robbers came “up,” meaning to
the north, to do battle with Zarahemla.
5. Jacobugath was in the borders near the shoreline of east sea (Lake Titicaca).
6. The Nephite army pursued the Gadianton robbers to Jacobugath and killed many of
them; among the dead was their leader Giddianhi.
7. Jacobugath was among the cities destroyed during the Gadianton War in AD 18.
8. The stronghold was rebuilt circa AD 29-30.
186
9. There was great inequality among the people of Jacobugath, with class distinctions
based on wealth.
10. The Lord destroyed Jacobugath by fire at his death because of their wickedness
11. Jacobugath was rebuilt after the Lord’s coming, but there were no rich or poor among
them; suggesting that no luxury goods were being produced at the city.
Compare Archaeologists' Discoveries at Taraco to what we know about Jacobugath
For the purposes of this discussion, assume that the ruins at Pukara are indeed Zarahemla, and
that the ruins of ancient Taraco near the northern end of Lake Titicaca are Jacobugath. Again,
no one today knows the original name for Pukara or Taraco.
Why should we assume that Taraco was ancient Jacobugath? First, Taraco was “down” *south+
from Pukara on the level plains of the Altiplano. At the time of Christ, the northern shoreline of
Lake Titicaca on the Altiplano had many small villages and one large city, which archaeologists
now called Taraco. At the time of the Gadianton War, Taraco would have had a population of
approximately 5,000 people.499 Since the robbers had left the mountains (3 Nephi 4:1), we can
assume that the number of robbers who fled to Jacobugath far exceeded its residents'
population. At the same time, Pukara’s population is estimated to have been around 10,000. 500
Of course, when the Nephites gathered into one body at Zarahemla and had become “so great
a number” (3 Nephi 4:4) it is logical that Pukara’s population would also have increased many
fold.
Let us now review the recent archaeological findings and deductions about Taraco that were
presented by Charles Stanish and Abigail Levine of the University of California, Los Angeles as
Proceedings of the National Academy of Science.
1. Taraco and Pukara came into existence at approximately the time the Mulekites would
have settled in the land (region) of Zarahemla, and the warfare they experienced is consistent
with the violent conflicts described in the Book of Mormon. According to Stanish and Levine:
The two largest centers were Taraco, located near the northern lake edge, and
Pukara, located 50 km to the northwest in the grassland pampas. Our data reveal
that a high-status residential section of Taraco was burned in the first century
AD, after which economic activity in the area dramatically declined. Coincident
with this massive fire at Taraco, Pukara adopted many of the characteristics of
state societies and emerged as an expanding regional polity. We conclude that
organized conflict, beginning approximately 500 BCE., is a significant factor in the
evolution of the archaic state in the northern Titicaca Basin. [Mulekites]
499
Ibid.
500
Ibid.
187
The political landscape changed at approximately 500 BCE. Iconography on
carved stone stelae, textiles, and pottery depicts people who seem to be valued
for their military prowess. Trophy head motifs, common throughout the central
Andes at this time, suddenly appear in the northern Titicaca repertoire of motifs
and favored images. Other data also suggest elevated levels of political unrest
and warfare. Excavations at a sunken court site in the Pukara Valley yielded
trophy heads in association with the Late Qaluyu phase occupation, which dates
to ca. 800–200 BCE. Archaeological surveys conducted in the northern Basin
have also revealed sites of this era that were situated in defensible locales.501
2. Warfare and raiding were prevalent among the people of the Pukara and Taraco
According to Stanish and Levine, “It is precisely such a cultural landscape that provides the
fertile ground for the emergence of first-generation states. In this article we focus on a case of
organized raiding and warfare between competing polities in the Titicaca Basin of southern
Peru from ca. 500 BCE to AD 400 as a major factor in first-generation state formation.”502
3. The northern Lake Titicaca, including the pampa area where Pukara is located, was a
fertile land, an area where people could obtain riches. According to Stanish and Levine:
The Titicaca landscape provides a rich variety of exploitable ecological niches.

Vast grasslands support camelid herds that provide wool and meat, whereas the
lake provides abundant fish, reeds, and aquatic birds. Arable plains and hillsides,
dotted with natural and artificial qochas (sunken fields) and bofedales (marshes),
permit intensive agriculture, including the cultivation of tubers and grains.
Quaternary geological formations provide abundant mineral and rock resources,
including copper and silver, limestone, sandstone, and fine-grain volcanic.
Volcanic glass or obsidian, a high-valued commodity in the ancient economy, was
generally imported from the Colca Valley, some 200 km away. In short, the
Titicaca region is a rich and diverse environment providing a vast array of
resources that would have facilitated the development of complex societies.
4. Taraco was a great city for its time and produced luxury goods reminiscent of the riches
that caused the class distinction and prideful boasting of the Nephites at Jacobugath. According
to Stanish and Levine:
The site of Taraco, located along the Rámis River approximately 15 km north of
the lake, is composed of a series of mounds connected by roads and possible
causeways. Systematic survey indicates that the total aggregated site area is
quite large, approaching 1 km2. The site is famous for the large number of
beautiful stone stelae found in and around the modern town of the same name.
We have not directly identified the sunken courts; however, there is evidence of
their presence in the form of large sandstone slabs that were likely used in the
501
Ibid.
502
Ibid.
188
courts that housed the stelae. A modern town now sits over much of the site,
and the present-day church and municipal building lie on a low rise that almost
certainly contains the sunken courts—an architectural pattern similar to Pukara.
Two were on peripheral mounds to the east and north of the main mound. The
third, area A, was placed along the Rámis river edge in the highest part of the
mound. Systematic surface collections in area A indicated high quantities of
finely made pottery and obsidian. Such artifacts are usually indicators of either a
high-status location or a workshop where such items were manufactured.503
5. Excavations show that Taraco had been rebuilt, just as the Nephite cities had been
rebuilt after the Gadianton War. According to Stanish and Levine, “The excavations in area A
revealed a stratified sequence of depositional layers including architectural fill episodes,
midden accumulations under and on floors, and buildings that were remodeled, disassembled,
or destroyed.”504
6. Taraco was destroyed by fire around the time of Christ’s death. According to Stanish and
Levine:
The most significant level in the excavations was a substantial burning episode
associated with an early Pukara domestic compound. Evidence of this burn event
was detected in all areas tested, including each of the excavations units, as well
as in a profile cut along the margin of the river. Cleaning of this profile revealed a
continuous stratum of ash and architectural debris measuring at least 35 m in
length that corresponded to the same layer identified in excavation units. The
burn was so intense that it melted the compound's adobe superstructure in
some areas. Three thatched roofs, composed of annual grasses and wooden
beams, were burned so thoroughly that they carbonized through the clay floors.
There is little doubt that this very high-status area of the site was leveled and
burned in a single historical event.
Nine samples of charcoal from the burn event were selected for analysis. The six
samples from the annual grasses or reeds—Stipa ichu, Scirpus tatora—used to
thatch the roofs are consistent and place the intentional fire in the first century
AD. Not surprisingly, the dates from the large roof beams were much older,
ranging from 765 to 90 BCE. These differences in age were almost certainly due
to the practice of curating large and valuable wooden beams for use in each
rebuilding of a structure. Such behaviors have been well documented in other
arid and/or sparsely wooded areas around the world. Beams that are centuries
old are still used in houses today in the Titicaca region. (bold added)
The data strongly suggest that this site-wide burn event was an episode of
deliberate destruction, one that represents evidence for intensive raiding. It is
503
Ibid.
504
Ibid.
189
unlikely that residents would suddenly destroy their whole community and
destroy their own very valuable and rare beams and posts, even if they were
abandoning the settlement. Furthermore, the uninterrupted stratigraphy does
not indicate any site abandonment. This site-wide burn is further distinguished
from earlier instances of burning at the site because nothing was rebuilt
immediately after the compound was destroyed, which would have been
expected if the devastating burn was accidental or part of periodic household
maintenance, renewal, or ritual practices, such as those documented at the site
of Chiripa. Those are not site-wide but restricted and controlled. This
conflagration would have been immense and visible from a very long distance in
the Altiplano landscape.505
7. Consistent with the Gadianton War many people were killed at Taraco (Jacobugath) by
the armies of Pukara (Zarahemla).
Charles Choi writes: “Their results suggest Pukara waged a violent war against
Taraco, possibly killing hundreds with their weapons before burning the state to
the ground.
"In the century that Pukara peaked, the site of Taraco was attacked, and [it]
ceased to be a political power in the region," researcher Charles Stanish, director
of UCLA's Cotsen Institute of Archaeology, told Live Science. "The inference that
Pukara was responsible for the raid is extremely strong."506
8. Coherent with Nephite economics after Christ's visitation in the promised land, after
Taraco burned there were no longer any “rich” and no luxury goods manufactured. However,
there was evidence of a healthy agricultural activity. According to Stanish and Levine:
After the burning episode, area A was leveled, with nearly a meter of fill
indicating a large resident population that no longer built with fine stone or
regularly engaged in long-distance trade. The data point to a substantial
decrease in access to regional resources for the Taraco peoples after the burn
event. The sudden decrease in the regional power of Taraco correlates
chronologically with the rise of Pukara as a dominant political force in the first or
second century AD. Radiocarbon dates from a deposit of “pure Pucara style
rubbish” excavated by Kidder at the site of Pukara in the 1950s virtually overlap
in time with these new data from Taraco. In other words, the Pukara settlement
was at its height at the time that Taraco burned.
There is a greater density of hoe/adze fragments in the postburn context. This

indicates that agricultural activities were more common in the postburn phase.
This finding does not preclude the notion that farming was an important
505
Ibid.
506
Ibid.
190
component of daily practice before the burn event but rather indicates a relative
decline in other nonagricultural activities after the burn event.
There is a substantial decrease in the abundance of finely made, decorated

pottery after the burn event from 12% to 2%. This decline in the use of high-
value pottery from pre- to postburn is highly significant (χ2 = 32.70, P < 0.0001)
and suggests a corresponding drop in, or shift in the nature of, the ritual–political
activities taking place at the site.
Two lines of evidence indicate a dramatic change in the obsidian industry after
the burn event. First, there is more obsidian in the preburn contexts, and this is
not simply a product of sample size. For flaked tools and debitage, there is a shift
in the relative abundance of obsidian vs. nonobsidian (chert, quartz, etc.)
artifacts from the preburn occupation to the postburn occupation. In the
preburn context, obsidian artifacts make up 82% of the total sample of flaked
tools/debitage. However, the postburn sample of similar artifacts was found to
contain only 44% obsidian. This steep drop in the abundance of obsidian
postburn is highly significant (χ2 = 11.22, P = 0.0008). Second, obsidian artifacts
are, on average, significantly larger in the preburn context (P = 0.01168). In fact,
the mean weight of preburn obsidian artifacts is nearly double (2.26 g) that of
the postburn (1.318 g). Because the production of obsidian tools is a reductive
process, the size of the artifacts—particularly of the debitage—may be
considered as a proxy for primary access, because waste tends to increase when
raw materials are plentiful. As a relative index of access patterns, this shift in
mean artifact size indicates that the residents of area A had greater access to this
exotic good before the burn. Alternatively, the reduction in mean artifact size
could indicate the recycling of old materials by residents because their access to
new raw materials had been curtailed.507
Stanish’s and Levine’s interpretations of the ruins at Taraco fit nicely into the Book of Mormon’s
tale of two cities. Raiding was a part of the economics at the time. However, it would have been
Taraco [Jacobugath] raiding Pukara [Zarahemla] not the opposite. Along with Gadianton raids,
the people of the Altiplano experienced high levels of warfare during Book of Mormon times.
Possibly as a result of raiding the Gadianton robbers, Taraco [Jacobugath] became rich before it
burned. However, Pukara [Zarahemla] with its larger population eventually defeated the armies
of Taraco and destroyed the city [Jacobugath]. Tens of thousands were killed, including many
hundred robbers at Taraco, among them their leader Giddianhi. Taraco like Jacobugath had
been rebuilt after it was destroyed. Based on the excavations at Taraco, Stanish and Levine
interpret the artifacts that Pukara’s army attacked Taraco and then burned the city. With
today’s technology, the UCLA archaeologists have no way of determining the accurate time
interval between the killings and the subsequent fire that destroyed the city. However, their
sequencing of placing the battle before the fire, does fit the events at Jacobugath that occurred
approximately sixteen years apart.
507
Ibid.
191
The Book of Mormon account indicates that Zarahemla attacked and killed many at Jacobugath
during the Gadianton War, that the city was rebuilt, and sixteen years later fire leveled the city.
After the fire, Taraco no longer manufactured luxury goods; rather it increased its agricultural
activities. Thus, Taraco seems to have become an agrarian society where there were no longer
rich among them, yet the city was rebuilt, and there was ample food available to the residents.
At this time, it is impossible to know with certainty if the ruins of Pukara were Zarahemla or
that the ruins of Taraco were Jacobugath. However, the archaeological record presents very
strong similarities, and I believe there is good reason to pursue studying the possibility that
Taraco was at one time the notorious stronghold of the Gadianton robbers.
192
And now it came to pass that there were a great multitude
gathered together, of the people of Nephi, round about the
temple which was in the land of Bountiful….
They saw a Man descending out of heaven, and he was
clothed in a white robe. 3 Nephi 11:1,8
Chapter Eleven
Nasca, a Candidate for the Land of Bountiful
In the century preceding the birth of Christ, Nephi’s Promised Land was a very dangerous place.
The Nephite society suffered from the spiritual cancers of idolatry and faithlessness. Wars
between the Nephites and Lamanites were growing in frequency and intensity. The Lamanites
were gaining strength in the land southward. The seemingly invincible fortress of Zarahemla fell
twice to the Lamanites (Helaman 1:18-27, 4:5). So precarious were the circumstances in
Zarahemla that the Church leaders moved out of the city and established their headquarters in
the city of Bountiful.
Bountiful—Where Christ Appeared to the Nephites
In earlier times, under the

righteous kings Mosiah and
Benjamin, Zarahemla had
prospered. Besides having been
a prophet and benevolent ruler,
King Benjamin had a gifted
military mind. He led campaigns
that drove the Lamanites out of
the land of Zarahemla
(northern Titicaca Basin, Omni
1:24), and established peace in
his kingdom for the remainder
of his days (Mosiah 1:1).
By the first century BC, another

powerful nation was growing
on the southern end of Lake Titicaca, the empire of Tiahuanacu. 508 As this Aymara-speaking
(Lamanite) city grew in power, it became a major threat to Pukara (Zarahemla) on the northern
508
The Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York), “Timeline of Art History, Central and Southern Andes, 1000 BC—
1.AD, http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/ht/04/sac/ht04/sac.htm. (February 12, 2007), 2; also Klarich, 93.
193
side of the lake. In my Book of Mormon model, this meant that Zarahemla was now facing its
traditional Lamanite enemy in the land of Nephi on its northern border, Cuzco, (Alma 22:28), as
well as, a growing threat much closer to home on the south side of the sea on the east,
Tiahuanacu (Alma 22:33). The Nephites had temporarily blocked in the Lamanites against the
eastern shores of the sea in the east (Lake Titicaca, Alma 22:29), yet even to the west of
Zarahemla nomadic Lamanite tribes were wandering the wilderness areas of the land of
Bountiful (Alma 22:28).
In need of safer habitats, the

Nephites of Zarahemla had
only three choices: 1) to
colonize the land of Bountiful
to their west (Alma 22:33), 2)
to resettle the shoreline
valleys north of Desolation
(Alma 22:30) where the
Jaredites had once lived.
Thus, by 72 BC many
Nephites were migrating
north and taking possession
of “all the land northward,
yea, even all the land which
was northward of the land
Bountiful, according to their
pleasure” (Alma 50:11). In a Peruvian context, the route from Bountiful to the Land Northward
would have taken the Nephites along the shoreline highway of the Incas, passed the narrow
neck of land, and on to the shoreline valleys north of the Land of Desolation.
3) In what was undoubtedly another desperate attempt to find a safer place to live, in 55 BC,
Hagoth launched the first of his ships near the borders of the “land Bountiful, by the land
Desolation (Alma 62:5), by the narrow neck of land” (Alma 62:5).
The relocation of the Church’s headquarters from Zarahemla to Bountiful possibly happened in
35 BC, when the Lamanites “did come down against the Nephites to battle, and they did
commence the work of death; yea, insomuch that in the fifty and eighth year of the reign of the
judges (34 BC) they succeeded in obtaining possession of the land of Zarahemla; yea, and also
all the lands, even unto the land which was near the land Bountiful (Helaman 4:5).
Nasca archaeological record
The archaeological record confirms that during this period there was an extension of Pukara
influence from what I believe was Zarahemla to the Nasca Empire, which is a likely candidate
for Bountiful. Archaeologists have concluded that the most important civilization to arise west
of Pukara in the first century BC was the Nasca Empire. The Nasca are famous for their huge
lines (geoglyphs) of animal figures that were created in the desert, and can only be visually
194
appreciated from high in the air. An example of their artistry is the large figure known as the
Tree of Life509 (Figure 34).
Recent discoveries of Nasca-like geoglyphs in Syria, Jordan, Israel, and Saudi Arabia could
indicate that the origin of the tradition of constructing such lines is actually from the Middle
East. “The local Bedouin, a nomadic people, found in Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Libya, Egypt, and
Israel. call them the ‘works of the old men.’”'510 In retracing Lehi’s Trail in Arabia, I have come
across in the desert these geoglyphs and found them similar to what I witnessed in Peru.
Anthropologists Helaine Silverman of the University of Illinois and Donald Proulx of the
University of Massachusetts define the time period for the rise of the Nasca Empire as an
important political and religious center.
It is highly unlikely that Nasca 1 can be earlier than the final century of the first
millennium BC. Nasca 1 also can be cross-dated to the Pucara style of the Lake
Titicaca Basin on the basis of Pucara’s use of incised lines to separate areas of
slip-painted color. Radiocarbon dates from strata of pure Pucara refuse dated to
approximately 150 BC to 100 AD. These dates also support the suggestion that
Nasca 1 dates to this period of time.511
We start from the premise that Nasca was an Andean {Pukara} society. Using the
common analytical method of ethnographic analogy, we argue that it is plausible
to suggest that ethnographically and ethnohistorically known principles of
Andean sociopolitical organization may have operated in Nasca times.512
The first mention in the Book of Mormon of a land called Bountiful in the New World is found in
the twenty-second chapter of the Book of Alma. The footnote to this chapter dates it to 90-77
BC. However, this reference to Bountiful is to a place that already existed. Thus, it is likely that
Bountiful was first colonized by the Nephites sometime during the late second century BC. As
noted in the Introduction, a study published in 2014 by a highly credible team of archaeologists
is interesting. It was based on skeleton samples from the Nasca valleys in southern Peru. The
team took 207 DNA samples from human remains dating from circa 840 BC to 1450 AD. The
team’s DNA analysis was reproduced by the ancient DNA laboratories at the University of
Adelaide and Yale University. Following strict precautions common to ancient DNA analysis the
scientists came to some very interesting DNA conclusions. They discovered that there was a
significant increase in the population of the Nasca area starting around 200 BC. This would be
509
The German archaeologist Marie Reiche spent 50 years studying the Nasca lines. She believed the Tree of Life
geoglyph was attributed to the Nasca people (see http://www.latinamericanstudies.org/nazca/nazca-lines.htm.
However, more recent theories suggest that the Tree of Life might have been made in post-colonial times by
Spanish guano diggers to direct their ships.
510
MailOnLine, Daily Mail, http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2037850/Thousands-strange-Nazca-
Lines-discovered-Middle-East.html#ixzz5FvKK6jyr, accessed May 2108.
511
512
195
consistent with the Book of Mormon events when the Nephites shifted their capital to Bountiful
in Nasca.
The scientists also found that there was a “genetic discontinuity” and a decrease in the
population of the area time around 440 AD, roughly the time of the Nephite extermination.
Not only is Nasca Period 1 considered to have been an offshoot of the Pukara culture, it also
seems to have the familiar ruling duality that was employed at Zarahemla. That is, there were
both secular rulers and a religious hierarchy.513
Several specific clues point to the Nasca city of Cahuachi as being a candidate for the Nephites’
city of Bountiful. For example, elaborate Nasca pottery depicts war scenes that are consistent
with what is known about the battles recorded in the Book of Mormon. As noted earlier, the
Nephite General Moroni, “prepared his people with breastplates and with arm-shields, yea, and
also shields to defend their heads, and also they were dressed with thick clothing” (see Figure
25, page 95). As noted earlier, a pre-Columbian iron ore mine had never been discovered in the
New World, making the Book of Mormon’s assertion that the Nephites wore armor seemed
suspect. However, in 2008 archaeologists discovered the only known pre-Columbian iron ore
mine in the Americas. The mine dates back at least 2,000 years and was discovered at Nasca,
Peru. 514
While the Nephites were dressed well for battle, the unfortunate Lamanite soldiers fought
“naked, save it were a skin which was girded about their loins” (Alma 43:20). Painted on Nasca
pottery are battle scenes depicting soldiers of varied dress, “from naked to wearing just a
loincloth,” to one that “depicts a fully clothed Nasca warrior fighting and grabbing the wild hair
of a naked savage whose depiction is as ‘other,’ suggesting that he must not be Nasca.”515 As
we might expect, the Nasca pottery depicts the naked or loin clothed warriors as having dark
skin, while the fully clothed warriors had a fairer skin color.516 (Alma 43:19 – see Figure 30 on
page 103).
The eloquent artistry of the Nasca civilization also brings to mind images of the rich Nephite
society (Alma 4:6; 45:24; Helaman: 3:36; 4:12; 6:17). The Nasca Lines are some of the true
mysteries and wonders of the ancient world. The potters, weavers, embroiderers, and
architects of Nasca were highly skilled. For example, Nasca potters used up to eleven slip
pigments on a single vessel, which typically were highly polished.517 Nasca’s sophisticated
society has been classified as one of the Mastercraftman Cultures of the ancient world.518
513
514
No author stated, “Archaeologists ‘Strike Gold’ with Finds of Ancient Nasca Iron Ore Mine,” Science Daily,
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/01/080129125405.htm, 3 February 2008.
515
Silverman and Proulx, 231,232.
516
Silverman and Proulx, 138, 139, 216, 232.
517
518
Silverman and Proulx, 11,12.
196
We also know that the Nephites of the Bountiful period wore costly apparel (Alma 1:6, 32; 4:6;
5:53; 31:28). As mentioned earlier, the Nasca men wore mantles, tunics, turbans, turban bands,
and head cloths.519 The women:
…adorned their hair with feathers or gold plumes. The main item of clothing
worn by females is an ankle-length mantle, which is most often shown wrapped
around the body, sometimes fastened with a pin. When
drawn on a ceramic vessel, these mantles served as the
background for mythical creatures that are drawn on top of
them. Beneath the mantles women seem to have worn a
long tunic, probably consisting of two rectangles of cloth
sewn together to form a tubular garment. The major
difference between male and female tunics is the length,
with some of the later female examples extending to the
ankles. Head cloths were sometimes used.520
When the Spanish arrived, the indigenous natives of Peru had no

facial hair. An intriguing piece of Nasca pottery depicts a man who
might have been a direct descendant of the Nephites. Painted on
the pot is a well-dressed fair-skinned Nasca male depicted with a
Figure 38 Nasca Pot long moustache and goatee.521 At the bottom of the pot are two
faces, one darker skinned and the other fair skinned.
Excavated tombs have revealed that the “Nasca craftsmen made gold forehead ornaments,
gold mouth masks and other gold items of personal adornment such as head plumes, bracelets,
earrings, pendants, clothing plaques, pectorals, and remarkable spear throwers.”522
Finally, the Nasca ruins have surrendered artifacts that would be required for any serious
candidate as a Nephite archaeological site—evidences of gold-plate technology. Nasca
excavations have uncovered gold sheets that were hammered into an “almost uniform
thinness.”
Trees for shipping north
The Book of Mormon tells us that Bountiful had timbers that they shipped to the Nephites who
had colonized the land northward (Helaman 3:10). The numerous inhabitants who had
previously lived in the north, the Jaredites, had deforested the land (Helaman 3:6). I flew from
Lima (land of Desolation) north along Peru’s barren shoreline and found that it would have
been easy for the fragile ecosystems of the coastal fluvial valleys to have become deforested.
Whatever the cause for lack of trees, the northern colonists needed to build their houses using
cement (Helaman 3:7). Victor Von Hagen writes, the “largest man-made pyramid in all the
519
520
Silverman and Proulx. 73.
521
522
197
Americas (near Lima in the Land Northward), was constructed of millions of sunbaked bricks
cemented over and frescoed with paintings.”523 However, to the south, the river valleys of the
Nasca abounded with trees that could have been placed aboard Inca ships and transported to
the Land Northward.
A harbor
In antiquity, the building, launching, and loading of large ships required a natural harbor. The
land of Bountiful geographically matched well the Contisuyu, the southwest quarter of the Inca
Empire. Contisuyu had at least one, and perhaps more Pacific ports. Roughly, eighty miles south
of the Nasca capital was the harbor known as Puerto Inca (Port of the Inca). The protected
cove was the closest point on the Pacific to Cuzco and is the place from which fresh fish was
delivered to the nobles in Cuzco. The late Inca Empire built a permanent settlement at the
harbor, and reason suggests that such an attractive port would have been used in earlier
periods.
Cahuachi, the Temple of Bountiful
The temple of Bountiful is extremely

interesting to students of the Book of
Mormon. After the destruction that occurred
at the death of Christ, the surviving Nephites
in the area gathered at their temple. The
prophet Nephi and the others who would
become apostles were all assembled at the
temple at Bountiful, and it was,
understandably, the place where Jesus Christ
appeared to the Nephites (3 Nephi 11:1).
Figure 39 Nasca Temple at Cahuachi

If the Nasca civilization was the land of
Bountiful, then we can be fairly certain that the
city of Cahuachi with its massive temple was
the city of Bountiful and the very place where Christ first appeared in the Americas. Cahuachi
was the capital city in the Nasca lands, which included all the valleys and cities in the Río
Grande de Nasca River drainage.524 Silverman and Proulx give this description: “Cahuachi is
located on the south bank of the Nasca River, in a narrow section of the valley at approximately
365 m (1200 feet) above sea level, at a point where subterranean water emerges to the
surface. Cahuachi extends in length for some 2 km (1.2 miles) and covers approximately 150 ha
(hectares, 370 acres). The site is elaborated over a series of brown, barren, hill-covered river
terraces just above the valley floor and beneath the Pampa de Atarco.”525
523
Von Hagen, Victor W., quoted by Kocherhans, Nephi to Zarahemla, 123.
524
Strong, William Duncan, Paracas, Nazca and Tiahuanacoid Cultural Relationships in South Coastal Peru. Memoir
no. 13, (Menasha: Society for American Archaeology, 1957) 32.
525
198
The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York writes of the Cahuachi temple complex: “on the
south bank of the Nasca River, is the dominant ceremonial site in southern Peru. Sprawling over
forty low-lying hills capped with adobe structures, it is a pilgrimage center that brought
hundreds of worshippers to the region.”526 Silverman and Proulx write:
Silverman’s determination that Cahuachi was not an urban site is supported by

Giuseppe Orefici’s seventeen years of excavation at the site, which further
demonstrates its hyperceremonial nature. For example, Orefici has discovered a
“Step-fret Temple” (so-called because of a mud frieze decorating its north face).
Dated to Nasca 1 [150 BC-100 AD], this is the earliest ceremonial structure thus
far identified at Cahuachi; surely there are other Nasca 1 ceremonial
constructions waiting to be unearthed. The Step-fret Temple shows that
Cahuachi was a sacred site from its earliest Nasca occupation….
On the floor of one of the agglutinate rooms on the north-east side of Strong’s
Great Temple (Unit 2), Orefici discovered a cache of hundreds of broken
panpipes. These rooms may have stored the ritual paraphernalia used in
ceremonies as well as been facilities for the curation of damaged and obsolete
symbolically charged objects. Strong [1957:31] already had recovered ritual
paraphernalia from the Great Temple, including fine pottery, colored feathers,
and llama remains suggestive of sacrifice and feasting.527
The religion practiced in Nasca at the time of Christ
Nevertheless, we need to determine if the religion practiced at the great Cahuachi temple was
one that had associations to the law of Moses and included practices one would expected of
the Nephite faith? However, it is one thing to excavate an ancient temple or collect ritual attire
and paraphernalia, but another matter altogether to try to decipher the actual beliefs of a
people who vanished nearly two thousand years ago. From what archaeologists have
discovered at Cahuachi, we can gleam the following insights into the beliefs of the Cahuachi
people.
First, during early Nasca Periods 1, 2 (150 BC–100 AD) the Nasca faithful performed pilgrimages
to the temple. Cahuachi was the principal pilgrimage site where people came to offer sacrifices.
Rostworowski argues that at Cahuachi “…at a certain time of the year a great number of
people— common as well as elite—met there to perform a great taqui and dance according to
their ancient rites…. After the celebrations everyone returned *home+.”528 We know that the
righteous Nephites used the temple at the city of Bountiful as their place of gathering (3 Nephi
11:1). We can also assume that the Nephites would have practiced annual temple pilgrimages.
526
Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York), "Timeline of Art History, Central and Southern Andes, 1-500 AD",
http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/ht/05/sac/ht05sac.htm, (February 12, 2007), 2.
527
528
Rostworowski, María, “Origen religioso de los dibujos y rayas de Nasca,” Journal de la Société des Américanistes,
79:193.
199
When the temple existed in Jerusalem, the Israelites practiced three “pilgrimage festivals”
(chagim): Passover, Pentecost, and Tabernacles (Pseach, Shavouot, and Sukkot).
Second, the Nasca people offered animal sacrifices. Orefici excavated the burial site of more
than sixty sacrificed llamas in an area immediately south-east of one of the small mounds near
the temple, and he has recovered the remains of one hundred fifty-four adult and sixty-five
young camelids in construction fill in ceremonial mounds at Cahuachi.529
Third, like the Nephites (Alma 1:2,3,16), the Nasca appear to have had a lay priesthood.
Silverman and Proulx note: “we do not see evidence of Nasca religion having been a state cult
in which the religious officiators were supported by the labor of others.”530
Fourth, the Nasca temple rites were probably memorized and passed on from one generation
to the next, and with the ordinances performed according to a strict tradition. Victor Turner of
Cornell University writes that the Nasca temple priests would have possessed “a body of
codified and standardized ritual knowledge [learnt] from older priests and later transmit[ted] to
successors.”531 Since Nephi modeled his temple after the one in Jerusalem, it would follow that
the Nephites observed the same ceremonial rites. As noted, the Nasca offered animal sacrifices.
Fifth, music was a primary means for expressing the Nasca faith. Orefici writes “For the Nasca
people, music was one of the indispensable means of expressing the collective religious spirit,
constituting a true and proper choral language with which it was possible to communicate with
the divine.”532 Figurines of individuals playing panpipes, trumpets, and drums have been
discovered in Nasca ruins.533 Instruments used on the temple grounds in Jerusalem, though not
in the ceremony itself, included silver trumpets, flutes, harps, lutes, and brass cymbals.534
Sixth, a central theme in the Nasca faith was asking God for agricultural fertility. Silverman and
Proulx note, “In the situational context of rites,… it is significant that the painted harvest
festival textiles depict scores of farmers who are finely dressed in human garb and carry
plants.”535 Praying and sacrificing for a good harvest is well inside the context of the Nephite
faith. The Book of Mormon’s Amulek instructed the Nephites to pray “unto him when ye are in
your fields, yea, over all your flocks,… Cry unto him over the crops of your fields, that ye may
prosper in them. Cry over the flocks of your fields, that they may increase…” (Alma 34:20-25).
Of course, praying and sacrificing for successful harvests and for strength against one’s enemies
are common elements of most faiths. Still, this practice of the people at Cahuachi between 150
BC and AD 100 provides additional evidences that the early Nasca period religion was
harmonious in this regard with that of the Nephites.
529
530
531
Turner, Victor, Religious specialist. Magic, Witchcraft and Religion: An Anthropological Study of the
Supernatural, ed. Arthur C. Lehmann and James E. Myers, (Palo Alto: Mayfield Publishing Co., 1985), 82.
532
Orefici, Giuseppe, Nasca: arte e societá del popolo dei geoglifi (Milan: Jaca Books, 1993), 145.
533
534
Edersheim, Alfred, "Instrumental Music in the Jerusalem Temple, (http://www.piney.com/Edershi.html, 16
September 2007)
535
200
Seventh, and most important, we know that the Nasca people believed in Viracocha {Christ},
the bearded white God of Peru. Urton of Harvard University recorded ethnographic testimony
from people living at Cerro Blanco in the Nasca valleys. He writes:
In ancient times, before there were aqueducts [filtration galleries] in the valley, a
great drought occurred and the people had no water for years. The people
began crying out to their god, Viracocha or Con. They cried and screamed the
word nanay [Quechua for “pain”+….The people went en-mass to the foot of
Cerro Blanco, which was their principal templo or adoratorio; this was the place
where they spoke to the gods. At that moment, Viracocha/Con descended from
the sky to the summit of the mountain and heard the weeping of his people. He
was so moved by their cries that he began weeping and tears flowed from his
eyes.536
We learn from the above Nasca oral tradition that 1) their god was Viracocha, the bearded
white god of the Andes; 2) the Nasca people believed that they had a personal relationship with
Viracocha, even to the point that he could intervene on their behalf and end a drought; 3) that
Viracocha answered prayers; 4) that special prayers were offered at the temple; and 5) that
even in the heavens their god had the form of a man who could “hear,” have compassion, and
“weep” tears of concern and love. Although our knowledge is still quite limited, I am amazed at
the similarities that seem to exist between the Nasca people and the account of the Nephites of
Bountiful who, according to the Book of Mormon:
…saw that they were about to perish by famine, and they began to remember
the Lord their God; and they began to remember the words of Nephi.
And the people began to plead with their chief judges and their leaders, that
they would say unto Nephi; Behold, we know that thou art a man of God, and
therefore cry unto the Lord our God that he turn away from us this famine, lest
all the words which thou hast spoken concerning our destruction be fulfilled.
…the Lord did turn away his anger from the people, and caused that rain should
fall upon the earth, insomuch that it did bring forth her fruit in the season of her
fruit. And it came to pass that it did bring forth her grain in the season of her
grain.
And behold, the people did rejoice and glorify God…(Helaman 11:7, 8, 17, 18).
Nasca people used ancient Middle East irrigation technology
Surviving in arid lands required the Persians and Arabs to apply some very innovative
engineering. Among the most ingenious of their inventions was an underground canal system
called qanats. Ancient settlements needed two essential elements, a reliable source of water
536
Urton, “Report of fieldwork in Nazca, Peru”, Unpublished manuscript in the possession of Helaine Silverman,
quoted by Helanine Silverman and Donald A. Proulx, 208.
201
and fertile topsoil for growing food. However, in the arid Middle East, these two vital elements
are rarely found in the same location. The same is true along the arid shoreline of Peru. There
are few year-round streams or rivers. What little water there is, is often found in wells that tap
into pockets of underground water trapped at the base of mountains where the soil is rocky
and barren.
About 2000 BC Persians started constructing elaborate tunnel

systems they called qanats to extract groundwater from the
mountain basins and to funnel it to the topsoil that had
accumulated in the lower valleys.537
The main qanat tunnel sloped gently down from pre-

mountainous alluvial fans to an outlet at a village. From there,
canals would distribute water to fields for irrigation. The qanats
were built and maintained by the professional group
“Moghanni.” These early water engineers first dug a vertical
shaft into the ground near to the base of nearby mountains. If
Figure 40 Qanats being maintained in
Iran. they struck an abundant source of water, they designated this
well the “mother well.” From the mother wells they dug a line
of entry shafts from 25-40 yards apart the entire distance from the mother well to the
farmlands. The shafts were then connected by a narrow tunnel that when completed conveyed
water from the mother well to the cultivated fields. In some cases
the shafts were up to 200 yards deep.538 Because the underground
tunnels silt up over time or would collapse, the shafts needed to
remain open so the Moghanni could maintain the qanats.539
The raised circle of material around the opening of the maintenance

shafts protected the qanat from being filled with drifting sand.
However, the workers still had to periodically enter the shafts to
clean away the silt that accumulated in the line tunnels540.
Through trade or conquest the valuable qanat technology

Figure 41 Moghanni cleaning qanat
line tunnel. Source: spread rapidly through much of the Old World. The novelist
http://www.water-
asar.de/lang1/qanats.html James Michener described qanats in Afghanistan in his 1963
novel Caravans. Indeed, qanat technology spread along the
caravan trails as far as western China and Egypt. During the Roman Empire, via Syria and
537
http://www.water-asar.de/lang1/qanats.html
538
Kortum, Gerhard, "Qanate: Bewässern wie im Altertum", Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, unizeit Nr. 29,
S. 3, 09.04.2005.
539
Yazdi, Semsar, "A Survey on the Historical Evolution of Qanats in Iran", International Training Course on Qanats,
Yazd, Iran, 07/2007.
540
Ibid.
202
Jordan, qanats came to Western Europe up to Luxembourg. Due to invasions by Arabs, the
qanats, spread to the west: to North Africa, Cyprus, Sicily, Spain, and the Canary islands. With
the conquest of Mexico by Spain, qanats were introduced to western Mexico.
Of special interest to students of the Book of Mormon are the ancient qanats that still are used
in Oman in southern Arabia. Indeed, I first became aware of qanat technology through an
exhibit of the technology at the Land of the Frankincense Museum in Salalah, Oman. The
museum is located only twenty miles from the inlet of Khor Rori where we believe Nephi built
his ship. Archaeological evidence suggests that irrigation systems may have existed in Oman
since 2,500 BC. The trade in Frankincense by sea and by land caravan was in full swing when
Nephi was building his ship at Khor Rori on the Salalah coast plain. Large settlements existed on
the plain long before Nephi’s family arrived, so it is safe to assume that qanat technology was
already in use on the Salalah plain when he arrived there. Today, some 3,000 qanats are still
used in Oman. Dr. Jerry Buzzell described how a qanat (called falaj in Oman) irrigation system
functions:
This falaj [in Mahdah] begins in the hills above town, with a very deep well to
the aquifer. From there, tunnels have been dug channeling the water to the
town by gravity. In town, the falaj is a concrete trough, about a foot deep and
two feet wide, and the water flows swiftly.
The falaj is communal, its water available to all, up to a (specific) point. Beyond
this point, the water is distributed into different channels, owned by different
families, to irrigate date palms.
Water flow into each channel is controlled by a metal plate across the falaj,
which is lifted (to allow water to flow into the channel) or lowered (to hold it
back). The water is distributed to the different channels for periods of time
which depend upon factors such as the contribution of the families to the
construction and maintenance of the system, rents paid, etc.
In the middle of the narrow space beside the falaj is a very basic sundial–a
narrow rod stuck in the ground, with the hours marked out with stones on either
side of it–which is their method of time keeping and the basis of the distribution
of the water (during daytime hours when the sun is shining).541
Archaeological mystery, the qanats of Nasca Peru
The website of the Foundation for the Advancement of Mesoamerican Studies, Inc. notes:
“Because the unpredictability of water was a consistent threat, Nasca *Peru+ people built a
541
http://www.waterhistory.org/histories/qanats/ Content provided by USBR Provo, Utah, Office, assessed 29
June 2011.
203
highly refined irrigation system similar to the Near Eastern qanats, which opened the desert to
richly productive agriculture. Cotton, and all the major food sources (maize, sweet potato, yam
bean/jícima, pepino, achira, manioc, lúcuma, bean, peanut, squash) were cultivated by the
Nasca people.542 Little wonder then that the Nephites call Nasca the land Bountiful.
The Nasca qanat was only one of many qanats found along coastal Atacama Desert in southern
Peru and northern Chile.543 The existence of pre-Columbian qanats, (called ‘puquios’) in Peru
and Chile has scholars baffled. Paul Ward English an Associate Professor of Geography,
Assistant Director, Middle East Center, University of Texas writes, “It appears that the qanat
systems of the Atacama region [coastal desert of southern Peru and Northern Chile] may
predate the Spanish entry into the New World, thus qanats have become an additional item in
the continued pre-Columbian trans-Pacific diffusion controversy.544
The puzzle of how and when qanat technology came

to Chile and Peru is still unknown. Proulx summarized
the theories about when the Nasca qanat was
constructed:
Because of the ambiguity of the historical

documents, we should examine the
archaeological evidence as the best means of
Figure 42 Qanat underground canal system Nasca, answering the question of the date of the
Peru
puquios. There is nothing unique about the
architecture of the galleries that could be used
to date them to a specific culture, however Dorn has studied the formation of
desert varnish on the lintels of the
Orcona and Cantalloq puquios, and the
dates obtained on this material range
between AD 552 and 658 (Dorn et al
1992). Since the varnish begins to form
on fresh surfaces once the stone is cut,
these are minimum ages and fall squarely
in the time frame of the Nasca Culture.
The location of archaeological sites in Figure 43 Access shafts for cleaning qanat
tunnels, Nasca Peru
direct association with the puquios also
542
http://www.famsi.org/research/nasca/index.html, accessed 1 July 2011.
543
http://waterwiki.net/index.php/Qanats and http://www.waterhistory.org/histories/qanats/ assessed 27 June
2011.
544
Ward, Paul, “The Origin and Spread of Qanats in the Old World”, English Source: Proceedings of the American
Philosophical Society, Vol. 112, No. 3 (Jun. 21, 1968), pp. 170-181 Published by: American Philosophical Society
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/986162 Accessed: 23/07/2010
204
provides evidence for the early construction of these works. Although early
populations avoided living on the fertile valley floor, the excavation of the
trenches for the outflow from the galleries created elevated ridges or berms on
which limited habitation could take place (Schreiber and Lancho 1995:248). One
would expect to find evidence postdating the construction of the puquios on
these ridges, and Schreiber has located pottery and other artifacts ranging in
date from Nasca Phase 5 through the Middle Horizon and Late Intermediate
Period (ibid.) If the debris from these trenches had been deposited by the
Spanish, then it would be impossible for these earlier artifacts to be present in
this context.
Schreiber and her students have spent a number of years conducting an

archaeological survey of the Nasca, Taruga and Las Trancas tributaries--the areas
containing the puquio system. She hypothesized that there would be few Nasca
habitation sites in the middle parts of the tributaries prior to the construction of
puquios, since there is little to no surface water on a predictable basis in that
region. The results of her yet unpublished survey confirm that in the Early Nasca
period, habitation sites were distributed in the lower valley and in the zone of
filtration and the upper valley; not a single habitation site was found in the dry
middle portions of these tributaries (ibid.: 249). Following the construction of
the first puquios, which Schreiber dates to the middle Nasca period (Phase 5),
new sites appear in the middle valley adjacent to lands watered by the puquios,
attesting to their initial construction at that time. The construction coincides
with a period of prolonged drought on the south coast which occurred between
AD 540 and 560 and again between 570 and 610 (Thompson et al 1985).545
While the limited research suggests that the Nasca qanat might have been constructed more
than a century after destruction of the Nephi civilization, it could have been constructed during
earlier periods of the Nasca. Further, if the Nasca did build the qanat in response to a sixth-
century drought, then it would seem reasonable to assume that the technology was already
known to the Nasca. The question begs to be asked, “When were the other qanats in Peru and
Chile built?” There were over 50 other qanats constructed in the valleys around Nasca.546 Since
3,000 other qanats were constructed in Chile and other parts of Peru, it is likely that the Nasca
qanats were not the first. So how did such innovative engineering reach Peru and Chile?
Perhaps the Book of Mormon provides another possible solution to the mysteries of New World
archaeology.
545
Proulx, Donald A., Nasca Puquios and Aqueducts, University of Massachusetts,
http://people.umass.edu/proulx/online_pubs/Zurich_Puquios_revised_small.pdf, assesses June 30, 2011.
546
Schrediber, Karthrarina J., Department of Anthropology, UC Santa Barbara, “The Puquinos of Nasca,”Latin
America Antiquity, Vol. 6, No. 3, 1995, 229-254. Abstract, American Antiquity © 1995 Society for American
Archaeology, http://www.jstor.org/pss/10.2307/971674?mlt=true, Accessed 11 July 2011.
205
Figure 44 Nasca Peru Tree of Life
I also beheld that the tree of life

was a representation of the love of God.
1 Nephi 11:25
206
Moroni had thus gained a victory over one
of the greatest of the armies of the Lamanites,
and had obtained possession of the city of Mulek.
Alma 53:6
Chapter Twelve
Tambo Viejo a Candidate for the City of Mulek
Discovering a qualified candidate for a Book of Mormon place-name is not an easy process. It
requires comparing a very limited set of Book of Mormon attributes for the proposed site to
what archaeologists have deciphered from decades of meticulous field work and analysis of
excavation sites containing artifacts over 2,000 years-old. As difficult as this might be, I believe
there is now enough evidence to qualify a candidate for the Book of Mormon city of Mulek.
Where does one start in a search for the city of Mulek? On the one hand, we know that the city
of Mulek is not to be found in the "land of Mulek," which was located in the land northward.
The land of Mulek received its name because it was the place where the Mulekites first landed
(Helaman 6:10). Further, we know the land of Mulek was also called in the Book of Mormon the
land of Desolation because it was once peopled, but the inhabitants were destroyed (Alma
22:30). Remarkably, the pre-Columbian inhabitants of Peru called the valley where Lima, Peru is
located today, the "Land of the People of Desolation,"547 thus identifying a point of reference
in our search of the city of Mulek.
On the other hand, the city of Mulek was located in the land Bountiful, which was south of the
land of Desolation (Alma 22:31). It was also south of the city of Bountiful (Alma 52:23,27). I will
conclude then that the city of Mulek was a considerable distance south of what is today the city
of Lima and a shorter distance south of Nasca. What other clues does the Book of Mormon
provide to help identify a candidate for the city of Mulek?
1) Location: The city of Mulek was within the distance of a "long march" south of the city of
Bountiful (Alma 52:23, 27,31).
2) Geographical Features: The terrain between the cities of Bountiful and Mulek is described as
"plains" (Alma 52:20). The plains were in a "wilderness" (Alma 52:22), which probably meant
that the plains were in a desert land. Another geographical clue is that there were borders near
the city of Mulek and near the seashore. The term borders in the Book of Mormon usually
meant mountains (in Hebrew or Arabia borders translates as mountains). Before the battle for
547
Sullivan, 226.
207
Mulek, the Nephite army camped in the borders (mountains) near to where Amalickiah's army
was camped in the mountains by the seashore (Alma 51:31).
3) Fortifications: General Moroni ordered strong fortifications to be built in the city. However,
while Moroni's army was fighting the Nephite king-men in the land Zarahemla, the entire
Lamanite army, seeking protection within its fortifications, attacked the city of Mulek and
captured the city and many neighboring cities and forts (Alma 52:2,4,5,19).
4) Dating the Fortifications: The fortifications of the city Mulek were probably constructed
about 66 BC (Alma 52, footnote).
5) Design of the Fortifications: Because of the design and construction of its fortifications, it
was impossible for the Nephites to attack the Lamanite army while it was protected within the
walls of the city of Mulek (Alma 52:17).
6) Contextualization: The land features between the cities of Mulek and Bountiful would need
to be consistent with the account of the battle grounds of one of the greatest Nephite military
victories. The city was located so close to the ocean that the Lamanite guards could see
Teancum's Nephite army camped near the seashore (Alma 52:22). Furthermore, to avoid being
seen by the Lamanite guards, it appears that General Moroni's army passed by the city at night
on the west of the city (Alma 52:22). Tracing the movements of the main Nephite army, General
Moroni first came to the land of Bountiful, held a council of war there, and then moved with his
army to a hidden position near the city of Mulek. For this to have happened, the army started
its march north of the city of Mulek (at the city of Bountiful), then traveled south and by the
west side of the city of Mulek, thus camping in a pre-positioned location the south of the city of
Mulek.
Location
If Nasca is the city of Bountiful, then the remains of the city of Mulek should be relatively
nearby. This is a reasonable assumption since the Lamanite army pursued Teancum’s army
from the city of Mulek to a location near to the city of Bountiful (Alma 52:23,27).
So what is a reasonable distance for a long sustained march by soldiers? Carrying their camping
gear, the Roman legions were trained to march 25 miles in 5 hours. The Lamanite army appears
to have left the city of Mulek in the morning believing they were going into immediate combat
with Teancum's small army outside the city walls. It was only when they were outside the city
fortifications that they realized that they had to pursue the smaller Nephite army. On the open
plains (Alma 52:20) the Lamanites "pursued them with vigor" (Alma 52:24). Undoubtedly, the
Lamanites would not have been carrying their camping provisions. The Book of Mormon does
not state how long the Lamanites chased Teancum's army. It could have been a day, a day and a
night, or even longer. However, we know that by the time they were intersected by Lehi's army,
coming from Bountiful, the Lamanites were "wearied because of their march." The terrain along
208
the seashore south of the city of Nasca (Bountiful) is mostly flat gravel plains where foot-
soldiers could cover a great distance in a single day. Further, we know that by the time the
Lamanites neared the city of Bountiful, Lehi and his army confronted them. Assuming that the
Lamanites pursued the Nephites for a day and a night, it is likely that they could have covered
50 miles or more before becoming wearied and not fully prepared for battle (Alma 52:28).
Since General Lehi was responsible for protecting the city of Bountiful, it can be assumed that
he would not have allowed the Lamanites to get too close to the city before intersecting them
(Alma 52:27). When the armies met, Lehi's men were still fresh and ready for battle (Alma
52:28). Using this information, it is reasonable to add at least 10 miles to the distance between
the city of Mulek and the city of Bountiful. This allows for a reasonable distance for Lehi's army
to march south of the city of Bountiful before confronting the weary Lamanites, and increases
the total estimated distance between the city of Mulek and the city of Bountiful, to be within a
radius of 60 miles or more. Again, we have no record of hours or days the Lamanites pursued
the Nephites, only that they "were wearied because of their long march" (Alma 52:31).
When I started my search for a candidate for the city of Mulek, I knew of no ancient ruins south
of Nasca. Indeed, the area south of Nasca is part of the driest desert on earth, with rains only
209
occurring every ten years or so. The only ancient inhabitations that existed in this desert are in
the fluvial valleys where seasonal rivers flow down from the snow-capped Andes. These rivers
allowed agriculture communities to thrive in this otherwise harsh land. Knowing this, I scanned
literature to see if there were any archaeological sites in the nearest fluvial valley south of
Nasca, the Acari Valley. What I discovered was that there was in Book of Mormon times a large
and complex city at the mouth of the Acari Valley. The ruins of this ancient city are referred to
by archaeologists as Tambo Viejo. Avoiding the mountains and staying on the flat plains, the
remains of the ancient settlement is only a 54-miles march away from the city of Nasca.
Geographical Feature
As noted before, the terrain between the cities of

Bountiful and Mulek is described as "plains" (Alma
52:20). The plains were in a "wilderness" or desert
(Alma 52:22). City of Mulek was near the seashore
and the mountains. The night Teancum went into
the Lamanite camp and killed Amalickiah, the
Nephite army was camped in the mountains
(borders) while the Lamanites were camped near
the mountains near the sea (Alma 51:32). As
indicated in this Google Earth image, the area south
of Nasca fits perfectly the description of the terrain
where the battle for the city of Mulek occurred. South of Nasca are flat gravel and sand plains
in what is the driest desert on earth. Within a few miles of the seashore are the foothills of the
mighty Andes Mountains.
Fortifications
General Moroni ordered strong fortifications to be built at the city of Mulek. However, after
Teancum killed Amalickah, the fleeing Lamanites attacked the city of Mulek using "all their
army" (Alma 52:2) against the undermanned Nephites whose military forces were split. During
this time, General Moroni and his army were fighting the Nephite king-men in the land of
Zarahemla. As a result, the Nephite-built fortifications at the city of Mulek and many other
cities, and forts fell under the control of a large Lamanite army. (Alma 52:2,4,5)
Although the word "fortify" is used in the Book of Mormon before the battle for the city of
Mulek, it appears that the term only meant to fortify with arms and positioned soldiers in the
cities (Jacob 7:25; Alma 48:9). It was not until the time of the great Nephite General Moroni
that the Book of Mormon refers to physical fortifications being erected to protect the Nephite
cities against the Lamanites. Since there only seems to have been around a year between the
time Moroni ordered fortifications to be built for the cities of Bountiful until the Lamanites
captured the fortified city of Mulek (see footnotes for Alma 52), it is likely that the fortifications
built by the Nephites were quickly erected. For this reason they used only "cast up dirt round
210
about to shield them from the arrows and stones of the Lamanites" (Alma 51:2). The Nephite
fornications were described as "heaps of earth," "banks of earth," "walls of stone" or "dug-up
ridge". At least some of the banks of thrown-up earth had ditches next to them. The design of
the Nephite fortifications allowed entry to a city by only a single place of entrance (probably a
guarded gate, see Alma 48:8; 49:18; 50:1,4). An additional feature of the Nephite fortifications
were towers from which stones could be cast down upon their enemies (Alma 50:4).
In a conference paper entitled "The Earliest Fortified Settlement of the South Coast of Peru,"
Lidio M. Valdez of MacEwan University, presented documentation on the construction, design,
and age of the fortifications of settlements he and other archaeologists surveyed that existed in
the Acari Valley during the early part of the Early Intermediate Nasca Period (first century BC
and first century AD). In all, Valdez cites 77 archaeological publications providing 222
citations.548 Valdez writes:
Early in the history of archaeological studies in the Acari Valley, researchers

noted the presence of aggregated settlements surrounded by large walls that
were established during the first half of the Early Intermediate Period (Rowe
1956:137, 1963:11; Menzel 1959:128; Valdez 1998). More recent research has
determined that during this period a total of eight aggregated settlements
existed in the lower section of the Acari Valley.549
Of the eight fortified Acari Valley settlements that date to the Book of Mormon period, the
largest and most complex was Tambo Viejo, which for the purposes of this discussion I propose
as being a candidate for the city of Mulek. The archaeologists discovered that the walls which
surrounded Tambo Viejo were massive and built of dirt, gravel, some cobble stones, adobes,
and mud. Although most of the walls have been demolished to make room for modern
agriculture, archaeologists can still trace the overall dimensions of the fortifications. The outer
earthen wall at Tambo Viejo extended 1.5 km (nearly one mile) from north to south and 0.5 km
(.31 miles) from east to west.550 The enormous size of the compound could easily have hosted a
large Lamanites army. The outer walls were impressive, standing 5 meters or higher (16.4 feet)
and having a base width of 6 meters (19.6 feet).551
If an enemy could somehow gain access over the outer walls of Tambo Viejo, they faced two
more inner walls.552 At least two of the fortifications in the Acari Valley had ditches found next
to the walls. Valdez provides this description:
548
Valdez, Lidio M. "The Earliest Fortified Settlement of the South Coast of Peru." To read the complete paper,
including photographs, illustrations and maps see webpage:
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/268524317_The_earliest_fortified_settlements_of_the_south_coast_o
f_Peru. Accessed 2016.
549
Valdez, 6.
550
Ibid., 7,9,12.
551
Ibid., 11-12.
552
Ibid., 21.
211
The ditches were likely produced at the time soil was removed to build the walls;
intentionally placed or not, the ditches probably constituted an important
component of the defensive system, making it even harder to overcome (to
climb) the surrounding walls" (Keeley, Fontana. and Quick 2007:57-60, etc.). 553
Besides walls of cast up earth, the Nephite fortifications included towers [Alma 50:4). The
fortifications at Tambo Viejo included 11 man-made high platforms that were probably used as
watch towers or to counter attack.554
Dating the Fortifications
The fortifications at Tambo Viejo were serious structures involving a significant investment of
time and effort on the part of those who built them. As Valdez notes, the fortifications in the
Acari Valley were the first built in the south coast region of Peru. The earliest mention of
fortifications in the Book of Mormon is in Chapter 48 of the Book of Alma, footnote indicating
72 BC. However, General Moroni only ordered the cities in the land of Bountiful to be fortified
about 66 BC (footnote Alma 52). The question begs to be asked, When were the fortifications
built in the Acari Valley? Valdez cites:
Absolute dates (although still limited) and the ceramic shards found in the walls
confirm that these structures were built early in the Early Intermediate Period.
The oldest date has been determined for the northern wall of Huarato [one of
the eight fortified settlements in the Acari Valley], with a radiocarbon age of
2030 +/- 60 BP (cal. 55 +/- 60 BC).555
Thus, the earliest fortifications in all of the southern coast of Peru are found in the Acari Valley
and date to 55 BC plus or minus 60 years-an incredibly accurate matching when compared to
the construction dates of the Mulek fortification in the Book of Mormon.
Design of the Fortifications
Because of the design and construction of its fortifications, it was impossible for the Nephites to
attack the Lamanite army while it was protected within the walls of the city of Mulek (Alma
52:17). This put General Moroni in a self-made predicament.
The fortifications that Moroni's forces built were not only strong; they were meticulously
engineered. In fact, the Lamanite captains were "astonished exceedingly, because of the
wisdom of the Nephites in preparing their places of security" (Alma 49:5). One design feature
was a singular fortified place of entrance (Alma 49:4,18). However strong and well designed,
the Lamanites were able to overcome the fortifications and capture the city of Mulek. How
553
Ibid., 17.
554
Ibid.
555
Ibid., 16.
212
could this have happened? As noted before, the capture of the city occurred while the Nephite
forces were split because of internal conflict. While Moroni and his army were in the land of
Zarahemla, the entire Lamanite army went to attack the land of Bountiful (Alma 51:22),
including the city of Mulek and several other cities that were located on the east borders
(Andes or East mountains) by the (Pacific) seashore (Alma 51:26). The Book of Mormon records:
"And thus had the Lamanites obtained, by the cunning of Amalickiah, so many cities, by their
numberless hosts, all of which were strongly fortified after the manner of the fortifications of
Moroni; all of which afforded strongholds for the Lamanites" (Alma 51:28).
General Moroni faced a very real predicament. The large Lamanites army that occupied the city
of Mulek was protected by the strong and ingeniously designed fortifications that he himself
had designed and ordered to be built. Thus, the Nephites understood just how unwise it would
be for them to retake the city in a direct assault, even though the Nephite soldiers were great
warriors (Alma 51:31). Further, General Teancum most likely knew the exact features of the
fortification in Mulek since his own troops probably built them. The Book of Mormon records
that General Teancum "saw that it was impossible that he could overpower them [Lamanites]
while they were in their fortifications; therefore, he abandoned his designs and returned again
to the city Bountiful" (Alma 52:18).
Would the fortifications at Tambo Viejo have discouraged an attack by a well-trained Nephite
army? Like the forts designed by Moroni, the walls of Tambo Viejo had only one single access
that was guarded by towers.556 If by chance Teancum's men would have overtaken the outer
walls or entrance at Tambo Viejo, the Nephites would have found themselves in a death trap of
their own making. Valdez describes the engineering of the inner fortifications at Tambo Viejo:
Equally intriguing are the two parallel walls on the western side of Tambo Viejo.
Such a design probably was strategic, where the outer wall was likely built to
prevent the entrance of enemy parties, whereas the inner wall was to obscure
the way of successful intruders, particularly if the attack was carried out at night.
Due to the height of the outer wall, perhaps initially standing about 4 meters
high (13 feet), the smaller inner wall more likely was invisible from the outside
(Valdez 2012c). As noted, the inner wall was covered with gravel likely in a
further attempt at camouflage. Thus, attackers who managed to enter the site
from its western side not only found an additional unexpected barrier to
overcome, but also became trapped between the two walls and were unable to
escape.
Furthermore, between the two walls just noted, there is a long empty space, but
without an obvious access. This space was divided by a small wall into two
halves; the northern section was further subdivided by a large mound built
between the two parallel walls. Although it is uncertain why the subdivisions
were established in the first place, one can plausibly argue that the overall
556
Ibid., 17,18.
213
design of the parallel walls and the divided blocked spaces in between was part
of the defensive system that perhaps, following the discussion provided by
Roscoe (2008:513-514; Keeley, Fontana & Quick 2007:57-60), featured
chokepoints. Indeed, two parallel walls may have been an effective method to
obscure the way and slow down the escape of attackers.
If the attackers were successful in overcoming the above obstacle, there was still
an additional large wall in front of them before reaching the well protected
rectangular compound. Between the western wall of the compound and the
inner wall noted above there is a second large space; at the mid-southern side of
that space there are two relatively short walls and three mounds nearby. The
walls in particular may have been established to force intruders, if entering from
the south, not only to turn left and then right and thus be disoriented and
vulnerable to defenders standing behind nearby walls, but also to force attackers
to enter in a single file and be vulnerable. Likewise, if intruders moved in from
the northern end, they had to pass through two narrow gates, again in a single
file. Hence, this overall site plan of Tambo Viejo appears to have been carefully
designed to lead intruders into the space behind the western wall of the
rectangular enclosure, a spot where they could have been easily finished off.
Roscoe (2008:515) asserts that attackers are aware that narrow gates and
chokepoints are dangerous spots. Therefore, such features discourage attacks.557
(Valdez, 17)
If Tambo Viejo is the city of Mulek, then General Teancum would have been fully aware of the
various hidden death traps inside the outer walls of the city. Certainly he was wise in not
attempting to take the city, but rather waiting for Moroni and his reinforcements to arrive
(Alma 52:17). We also see the genius of General Moroni holding a council of war to decide what
they "should do to cause the Lamanites to come out against them to battle; or that they might
by some means flatter them out of their strongholds..." (Alma 52:19.
Contextualization
The land around the city of Mulek had certain features the Book of Mormon attributes to the
battle that took place there. The city of Mulek was located so close to the sea that the Lamanite
guards could see Teancum's army camped near the seashore (Alma 52:22). Further, to not be
detected by the Lamanite guards, it appears that General Moroni's army had to pass by the city
at night on the west of the city (Alma 52:22). This implies that Moroni pre-positioned his armies
on the south of the city and also south of Teancum's camp.
The Book of Mormon credits General Moroni's strategy for defeating "one of the greatest of the
armies of the Lamanites, and had obtained possession of the city of Mulek, which was one of
the strongest holds of the Lamanites" (Alma 53:6). How did Moroni achieve this victory over a
557
Ibid., 17.
214
Lamanite army that was described was being "a wonderfully great army" (Alma 51:11) and
protected by strong and sophisticated fortifications?
First, Moroni and Teancum along with many of their chief captains held a "council of war" to
determine together what they should do to cause the Lamanites to come out the city of Mulek
against them (Alma 52:19). Plotting together, obtaining the buy-in from their captains,
carefully determining the responsibilities of each Nephite army unit, calculating the length of a
march that would fatigue the Lamanite troops and coordinating the timing of the Nephite troop
movements all point to leadership genius.
Second, the stage was set by having Teancum's army camped on the seashore close enough to
the city to be seen by the Lamanite guards, Moroni's army hiding to the south (Alma 52:22);
and Lehi's fresh army stationed at Bountiful ready to confront a larger but very tired Lamanite
force (Alma 52:27).
Third, the Nephite generals executed with exactness Moroni's plans. When the Lamanite guard
reported to their General Jacob that a small Nephite army was stationed near the shore, he
ordered his "armies" to attack Teancum's small force (Alma 52:23). Once the Lamanites fell for
215
the trap, Teancum led the Nephite troops north along the seashore leading the pursuing
Lamanite armies ever closer to the city of Bountiful. (Alma 52:23). With only a small Lamanite
force to protect the city of Mulek, General Moroni only needed a part of his army to retake the
city of Mulek. With Moroni at the head of the remainder of his army, he headed north to block
the Lamanites retreat back to the city of Mulek (Alma 52:24-26). When the wearied Lamanite
troops met General Lehi's fresh soldiers from the city of Bountiful, they fled south. Even
wearier, the fatigued Lamanite troops had not gone far before they were face to face with
Moroni's army (Alma 52:29). The Lamanites fought with fury against Moroni's army and the
troops of Teancum and Lehi. After a bloody battle which left General Jacob dead and General
Moroni wounded, the Lamanites were defeated and taken captive. (Alma 52:32-35). Thus, the
Nephi generals and captains were, with a much smaller force, able to retake the city of Mulek
and the associated cities and forts in the area. The above map illustrates how comfortably the
battle scenario for the city of Mulek fits within the terrain between Nasca (city of Bountiful) and
Tampo Viejo (city of Mulek). The distance between the two cities makes the Lamanite troop
movements reasonable. With the Pacific Ocean on the west and the mountains on the east, the
Lamanites were funneled into a narrow north-south corridor where there was no escape. Their
ability to flee to the north was blocked by Teancum's and Lehi's armies. When they tried to
return south to the safety of the fortifications of the city of Mulek, their route was blocked by
General Moroni's forces.
In conclusion, I believe there is solid evidence that the ancient city archaeologists now refer to
as Tampo Viejo is a qualified candidate for the Book of Mormon city of Mulek.
216
And it came to pass that they went forth
upon the face of the land, and began to
till the earth. Ether 6:13
Chapter Thirteen
The Jaredites and the Dawn of Civilization in the Americas
Driving north along the shoreline from Peru’s modern capital city of Lima, one sees a barren
wasteland. On the left is the Pacific Ocean, and in the distance to the right, the towering Andes
Mountains. Between the beach and the great peaks is a dusty desert. This narrow coastal plain
has one of the driest climates on earth and presents what appears to be a lifeless landscape. An
hour’s drive north from Lima is a slice of the coastline called Norte Chico. Separated by miles of
desert on the north and south, Norte Chico has four river valleys that break up its sterile
landscape with strips of lush vegetation. Despite its four snowmelt rivers, Norte Chico appears
to be the last place on earth one would look for the birth of the New World’s first civilization.
In 1941, Harvard archaeologists Gordon R. Willey and John M. Corbett worked at the mouth of
one of Norte Chico’s rivers, the Supe. They observed a half-dozen mounds or knolls and
reported that they were “natural eminences of sand.”558 They had been fooled by the deceiving
desert landscape. Fifty-three years later, Ruth Shady Solies from the National University of San
Marcos in Lima discovered in the same area the remains of a 150-acre city that included six
large platform pyramids, sunken ceremonial plazas, six other complexes of mounds with
platforms, and large stone buildings with residential apartments. The city has been named
Caral.
Caral
It was quickly apparent that Caral was a very ancient city. Jonathan Hass, an archaeologist for
the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago, and his wife Winifred Creamer, an
archaeologist at Northern Illinois University, established in 2000 that Caral was founded around
2600 BC That was just the beginning of the discoveries at Norte Chico. In the sixty-mile-long
area that constitutes Norte Chico, the ruins of twenty-four more ancient cities have been
discovered. From what we presently know, Norte Chico is the site of the New World’s first
urban complex. Charles Mann writes in his bestselling book, 1491: “The oldest date securely
associated with a city was about 3500 BC, at Huaricanga. Other urban sites followed apace:
Caballete in 3100 BC, Porvenir and Upaca in 2700 BC Taken individually, none of the twenty-
558
Mann, 203.
217
five Norte Chico cities rivaled Sumer’s cities in size, but the totality was bigger than Sumer’s.
Egypt’s pyramids were larger, but they were built centuries later.”559
Figure 45 One of the pyramids at Caral.
An urban center larger than Sumer! With a pyramid mound sixty feet tall and five hundred feet
on all sides. Of special interest to students of the Book of Mormon is that only one other city-
state civilization existed at that time—Sumer of the tower of Babel and Jaredite fame. How
exciting, a sister civilization that matched that of Mesopotamia in antiquity and achievements!
It should be remembered that Sumer in Mesopotamia was the original home of the Jaredites,
and that the discovery of Caral and the other ancient cities in Norte Chico are of paramount
importance in the study of Book of Mormon historicity. Indeed, for the first time, archaeologists
have discovered a civilization in the Americas that dates to the era of the early Jaredites.
The First Civilization of the Americas
The discipline of archaeology claims that primitive man stumbled upon stone tools some 1.5
million years ago. If so, then during the next 1.5 million years very little changed in the lifestyles
of our ancestors. Then suddenly, according to scholars, around 3000 BC, as if by some miracle,
the first civilization suddenly bloomed at Sumer in Mesopotamia. After 1.5 million years of
glacier-speed progress, as if within the twinkling of an historian's eye, mankind suddenly
invented agriculture, government, irrigation, textiles, sailing, fishing, and a complex theocracy.
Science has no explanation as to why mankind, after sleeping so long, could become so smart
so fast and in one place only. If scientists cannot explain what happened in Mesopotamia
around 3000 BC, what chance do they have of explaining how this same miracle could have
occurred in Peru only a few hundred years later? Indeed, the discovery of the ancient urban
559
Mann, 205.
218
center in Peru’s Norte Chico has left archaeologists with a puzzling paradox. How could man
have invented what we now call civilization at approximately the same time but on opposite
sides of the world? What scientists cannot explain, the Book of Mormon does.
As noted before, the barren coastal plain of Norte Chico is an unlikely candidate for giving birth
to a sophisticated civilization. Archaeologists believe that before the third millennium BC the
coastline of Peru was inhabited by native people whom they refer to as Paleo-Indian. These
native people had a technology that seems to have been just above that of the first humans
back in 1.5 million BC. Mann describes their society in this manner:
Peru’s first known inhabitants appear in the archaeological record sometime

before 10,000 BC. According to two studies in Science in 1998, these people
apparently lived part of the year in the foothills, gathering and hunting. When
winter came, they hiked to the warmer coast. At Quebrada Jaguay, a dry
streambed on the nation’s southern coast that was one of the two sites
described in Science, they dug up wedge clams and chased schools of six-inch
drum fish with nets. They carried their catch to their base, which was about five
miles from the shore. Quebrada Tacahuay, the other Science site, was closer to
the shore but even drier: its average annual rainfall is less than a quarter inch.
The site, exposed by the construction of a road, is an avian graveyard. On their
annual travels between the foothills and the shore, Paleo-Indians seem to have
visited the area periodically to feast on the cormorants and boobies that nested
on the rocks by the beach.
By 8000 BC, Paleo-Indians had radiated through western South America. Their
lives were similar enough to contemporary hunter-gatherers that perhaps they
should now be simply called Indians… Some groups had settled into mountain
caves, skewering deer-size vicuña on spears; others plucked fish from the
mangrove swamps; still others stayed on the beach as their forebears had,
weaving nets, and setting them into the water.560
What is the probability that the Palaeo-Indians of Peru could have spontaneously created an
autonomous and sophisticated civilization along the barren shoreline of Peru? Mann continues:
Sometime before 3200 BC, and possibly before 3500 BC, something happened in
the Norte Chico. On a world level, the eruption at the Norte Chico was
improbable, even aberrant. The Tigris-Euphrates, Nile, Indus, and Huang He
Valleys were fertile, sunny, well-watered breadbaskets with long stretches of
bottomland that practically invited farmers to stick seeds in the soil. Because
intensive agriculture has been regarded a prerequisite for complex societies, it
has long been claimed that civilizations can arise only in such farm-friendly
places. The Peruvian littoral is an agronomical no-go zone: barren, cloudy, almost
560
Mann, 199,200.
219
devoid of rain, seismically and climatically unstable. Except along the rivers,
nothing grows but lichen.
It looks like the last place you’d want to start up something major,” Creamer
said to me. “There doesn’t seem to be anything there to build it on.”561
The Neolithic Revolution is the invention of farming, an event whose significance

can hardly be overstated. “The human career,” wrote the historian Ronald
Wright, “divides in two: everything before the Neolithic Revolution and
everything after it.” It began in the Middle East about eleven thousand years
ago. In the next few millennia the wheel and the metal tool sprang up in the
same area. The Sumerians put these inventions together, adding writing, and in
the third millennium BC created the first great civilization. Every European and
Asian culture since, no matter how disparate in appearance, stands in Sumer’s
shadow. Native Americans, who left Asia long before agriculture, missed out on
the bounty. “They had to do everything on their own,” *Alfred+ Crosby
[University of Texas] said to me. Remarkably, they succeeded.562
But did the Native Americans miss out on the bounty of Mesopotamia’s achievements? Or were
they blessed by the arrive in Peru of the Sumerians of the tribe of Jared, and who left the Old
World from the harbor called Ophir.
New Ophir
We discussed earlier how the Inca oral traditions remember that people came to Peru after a
great flood and that they were giants. The Peruvians have a communal memory that a large-
size people arrived on their shoreline and that they brought with them the blessings of their
first civilization. The Incas believed that the first people who arrived in their land called it Pirua
(corrupted by the Spanish into Peru). Earlier Spanish chroniclers were told by the Indians that
the name Pirua was derived from the name “Ophir”, the same name as the famous Biblical
sailor (Genesis 10:29; 1 Kings 10:11,22). Chapter four explained how the man Ophir was
probably the given name of the Book of Mormon’s brother of Jared, and that the harbor in both
Oman and in the Promised Land were named after him. This is a strong indication that Peru is
where the Jaredites landed. However, what evidence do we have to support this idea?
The Religion of the White God
The Jaredites brought their religion with them to the Promised Land. If the civilized Jaredites of
Mesopotamia settled Norte Chico in Peru, then perhaps it is possible to find evidence that a
new monotheistic religion appeared along the Peruvian coast around the time the Jaredites
arrived in their Promised Land. The Mesopotamians were descendants of Noah and originally
561
Mann, 201
562
Mann, 19.
220
believed in the One True God. Norte Chico is the site where the first artifact with the icon of the
staff god, or the bearded white god Viracocha, was found in the Americas. The gourd on which
the icon was carved dates back to 2180 BC Mann writes:
Norte Chico chiefdoms were almost certainly theocratic,

though not brutally so; leaders induced followers to obey by
a combination of ideology, charisma, and skillfully timed
positive reinforcement….
The only known trace of the Norte Chico deities may be a

drawing etched into the face of a gourd….When Creamer
found the gourd in 2002, the image shocked the Andeanists.
It looked like an early version of the Staff God, a fanged,
staff-wielding deity who is one of the main characters in the
Figure 46 Image of White Staff Andean pantheon. Previously the earliest manifestation of
god at Tiahuanacu, Bolivia with the Staff God had been thought to be around 500 BC
tears from eyes.
[Approximate time of Nephites] According to radiocarbon
testing, the Norte Chico gourd was harvested between 2280 and 2180 BC. The
early date implies, Haas and Creamer argued, that the principal Andean spiritual
tradition originated in the Norte Chico, and that this tradition endured for at
least four thousand years, millennia longer than had been previously
suspected….Over the millennia, this god or gods transmitted into Wiraqocha
[Viracocha], the Inka creator deity, whose worship was brutally suppressed by
Spain.563
The Peruvian white god was always depicted as a man holding staffs, and was the dominate god
of Peru until the Inca’s (AD 1400-1532) started worshipping the Sun. Even then, the Incas
maintained two temples in their capital, one to the sun and the other to Viracocha.
Quetzalcoatl, the white god of Mesoamerica, did not become the dominant god of Central
America until 700 AD.564
In my judgment, the symbolism associated with Peru’s Viracocha white god traditions appear to
be consistent with the Bible and Book of Mormon description of Jesus Christ. For example,
consider the ruins of the city of Tiahuanacu at Lake Titicaca in Bolivia. The city was built around
200 AD, the approximate time the Nephite and Lamanite cities were being rebuilt after the
appearance of Christ in the New World (4 Nephi 1:7). I visited the ruins of Tiahuanacu during
my Peru-Bolivia mission. I was dwarfed by stone statues over four times my height (the tallest is
nearly 24 feet tall). Some of the giant monoliths portray Viracocha, the bearded white god of
the Andes. Every Viracocha image at Tiahuanacu is clearly of a god in the form of a man.
Perhaps the most famous icon of Viracocha is the carving of him that adorns the Sun Gate at
Tiahuanacu (See Figure 42 above). The carving is of a man holding staffs. The man has an aurora
around his head (common artistic convention for signifying deity), a beard, and tear drops
563
Mann, 209-212.
564
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quetzalcoatl#References
221
falling upon his cheeks a possible symbolism for the love and passion the Lord displayed in the
Americas (See 3 Nephi 17:20,21).
The Invention of Government
The early Jaredites formed a centralized government, with kings who ruled over cities and
territories. At latest in Peru, this type of government appears to have occurred in the late third
millennium BC, a time when complex civic organizations only existed in one other place. Mann
notes of Peru:
Because human beings rarely volunteer to spend their days loading baskets with
heavy rocks to build public monuments, Hass, Creamer, and Ruiz argue that
these cities must have had a centralized government that instigated and directed
the works. In the Norte Chico, in other words, Homo sapiens experienced a
phenomenon that at that time had only happened once before, in Mesopotamia,
the emergence, for better or worse, of leaders with enough prestige, influence,
and hierarchical position to induce their subjects to perform heavy labor. It was
humankind’s second experience with government.
“It’s one of only two places on earth…where government was an invention.

Everywhere else it was inherited or borrowed. People were into societies with
governments or saw their neighbors’ government and copied the idea. Here
[Peru], people came up with it themselves.565
Anthropologists would have us believe that after eons of human evolutionary time two
separate groups, on opposite sides of the world, invented at the same time a form of ordering
human society. It seems far more likely that a group of people, i.e., Jaredites, migrated from
Mesopotamia to Peru around 2600 BC and once settled they patterned their new government
after the order they practiced in Mesopotamia. Indeed, it is easy to answer the question,
“Where did government come from?” In the Old World, it was established by Noah as the
patriarchal order. In the New World, the same order was implemented by the Jaredites.
If the Jaredites introduced the Palaeo-Indians of Peru to religion and government, then it would
seem probable that they would have introduced Mesopotamian technologies to the New
World. Following are some examples of new technologies that came into existence in Peru
during the early Jaredite period. It is highly improbable that any one of these technologies
could have been discovered without some form of external stimulus.
The Invention of Metallurgy
The Book of Mormon informs us that well before Nephi fabricated his plates, the Jaredites had
created their own book of gold plates (Mosiah 8:9). Nephi started creating golden plates once
he was in the Promised Land (1 Nephi 19:1). Therefore, if not at Khor Rori, it is conceivable that
565
Mann, 206.
222
Nephi learned how to hammer plates of gold in the Americas from a people who had been
taught the technique from the Jaredites.
Yale University anthropologist Richard L. Burger and Yale geologist Robert B. Gordon recently
discovered thin gold and copper foils in Peru. The foils date to 1410–1090 BC. These ancient
dates were confirmed by testing the carbon atoms that had collected on the sheets. The gold
foils were worked cold, that is, pounded with stone hammers into foils between 0.1 and .05
millimeters thick (.004 to .002 inch).566 The hammering technique for making golden foils or
metal plates is an example of a rarely known technology. However, in antiquity such hammered
plates were fabricated in the Near East.
If nowhere else in the ancient Americas the native populations knew how to work gold, make
copper alloys to harden copper, or make other metals, how did the Andean people learn these
advanced technologies? In a special paper for the Geological Society of America (July 2010),
Petersen explains; “The use of arsenic to harden copper dates to ancient times in the Old World
and only 0.65% arsenic is needed to give copper resistance to deformation. Arsenical copper
objects were found in the Middle East that date to the Early Sumero period (before 2358
BC).”567 Sumero was the civilization of Mesopotamia at the time of the Jaredites. Thus while
scientists are clueless as to how the Peruvians became skilled in gold, silver, and copper alloys,
the Book of Mormon provides the answer—the technology was transferred to the Americas by
the Sumerians who called themselves the Jaredites.
The Invention of Farming
If it were not for a transfer of technology from the Old World, how did the Palaeo-Indians of
Peru suddenly discover how to cultivate food in irrigated fields? Mann writes: “To feed Norte
Chico’s burgeoning population, Shady *Ruth Shady Solies+ discovered the valley folk learned
how to irrigate the soil. Not given an environment that favored the development of intensive
agriculture, that is, they shaped the landscape into something more suitable to their
purposes.568”
How the Peruvians “learned” to irrigate farms is the real question. The Jaredites were no
strangers to the advanced agricultural techniques of the Mesopotamian valley. They intended
to farm when they arrived in their new homeland. The Book of Mormon records that they
brought their seeds with them (Ether 2:3), and upon reaching the Promised Land they
immediately began tilling the earth (Ether 6:13).
Invention of Cloth and the Peruvian Textile Revolution
Of special interest in Book of Mormon research is that the main crop cultivated by the farmers
in Norte Chico was cotton. While the Jaredites worked all manner of cloth (Ether 10:24), Europe
566
Schmid, Randolph E., “Andean find pushes earliest date of metalworking back 1,000 years” The Associate Press,
5 November 1998 (Washington), 1,2. http://www.latinamericanstudies.org/inca/metal.htm.
567
Petersen, 61.
568
Mann, 206.
223
was only introduced to cotton cloth by Arab merchants about 800 AD. Cultivating, breeding,
and learning how to produce textiles from cotton are complicated processes. Only four species
of cotton have ever been domesticated— two in the Americas and two in the Middle East and
South Asia. The men aboard Columbus’s ship wore flax and wool cloth. Mann points out that
“South American cotton (Gossypium baradense) once grew wild along the continent’s Pacific
and Atlantic coasts…. in the Andean past, the long, puffy bolls of South American cotton, some
varieties naturally tinted pink, blue, or yellow, were the soft underpinning of Andean
culture.”569
How did the settlers at Norte Chico learn to utilize cotton? We know that the Jaredites
produced silks and fine linen (Ether 9:17). The cotton textiles produced in ancient Norte Chico
were of such quality that they were the main element for regional trade. It was the media in
which the Peruvians created visual arts and was used as a median for exchange and savings.570
Invention of Fishing and Maritime Technology
In Mesopotamia, the Jaredites had built boats (Ether 2:16). Subsequently, they made eight
barges that successfully completed a transoceanic crossing to the Americas. To have achieved
such a feat, the Jaredites must have been skilled and experienced seafarers before they
commenced building the barges that took them to the New World. Although it was a surprise to
archaeologists, the latest discoveries support the theory that the rise of civilization in Peru was
based on a maritime economy. In 1995, Florida archaeologist Michael Moseley proposed the
MFAC hypothesis: the Maritime Foundation of Andean civilization.
The MFAC hypothesis—that societies fed by fishing could have founded a

civilization—was ‘radical, unwelcome, and critiqued as an economic
impossibility.” Moseley later recalled: Little wonder! The MFAC was like a brick
through the window of archaeological theory. Archaeologists had always
believed that in fundamental respects all human societies everywhere were
alike, no matter how differently they might appear on the surface. If one runs
the tape backward to the beginning, so to speak, the stories are all the same:
foraging societies develop agriculture; the increased food supply leads to a
population boom; the society grows and stratifies, with powerful clerics at the
top and peasant cultivators at the bottom; massive public works ensue, along
with intermittent social strife and war. If the MFAC hypothesis was true, early
civilizations in Peru [were] in one major respect strikingly unlike early
civilizations in Mesopotamia, Egypt, India, and China. Farming, the cornerstone
of the complex societies in the rest of the world was in Peru an afterthought….
The MFAC hypothesis was radical, its supporters conceded, but the supporting
evidence could not be dismissed. Bone analysis show that late-Pleistocene
569
Mann, 207.
570
Mann, 207.
224
coastal foragers “got 90 percent of their protein from the sea—anchovies,
sardines, shellfish, and so on”.571
The sailing ship was invented in Mesopotamia. Besides fabricating cotton sails, the Sumerians
used cotton nets to catch fish. If the Jaredites arrived in Peru, they undoubtedly would have
discovered the great fishery of the Humboldt Current, one of the richest fisheries in the world.
It would only seem natural that the shipbuilding and ocean-going Jaredites from Mesopotamia
would continue building ships to exploit the Peruvian fishery.
Invention of Ocean-Going Reed Ships with Sails
If the Jaredites’ barges landed in Peru, they were probably not the first foreign ships to land in
South America. The Bering Strait theory for the early habitation of the Western Hemisphere is
now under serious revision. The problem is that South America was inhabited prior to the ice-
free corridor [32,000 years ago572] on the ice sheet that would have allowed migrants from Asia
to reach the southern ice-free lands before they died from starvation. Recent discoveries in
Chile suggested that humans have lived there for more than thirty thousand years. The new
discoveries prompted Mann to state, "Perhaps the first Indians traveled [to Chile] by boat, and
didn't need the land bridge."573
The Spanish chronicler Cabello Balboa wrote that according to the legend of the Incas, in
primordial times, the Peruvian coastal valleys were invaded by people from the sea in a fleet of
balsas or rafts.574 The Jaredites came to the New World in eight barges. They were shipbuilders
whose homeland, Mesopotamia, invented the sail and had a long legacy of building large
ocean-going balsa vessels. Thor Heyerdahl was one of the earliest to identify that the reed ships
of Mesopotamian match with considerable exactness the reed ships of Lake Titicaca in Peru and
Bolivia.
The Peruvians were still building ocean-going balsa ships when Columbus reached the New
World. Again, the first encounter the Spaniards had with the Incas was “in the form of an Inka
ship sailing near the equator, three hundred miles from its home port, under a load of fine
cotton sail. It had a crew of twenty and was easily the size of a Spanish caravelle.”575 In 2004,
the US explorer Phil Buck repeated Heyerdahl's feat by sailing a reed ship from South America
to the Easter Islands.576
Smaller versions of Peruvian reed boats are still utilized by the Uros Indians on Lake Titicaca,
the highest navigable sea in the world. The Lake Titicaca basin was settled around 1400 BC,
perhaps by the last remnant of the Jaredites. Thor Heyerdahl compared the reed boats of Peru
to the reed boats of the Nile. However, the totora reed shipbuilding technology could have
571
Mann, 208-209.
572
Mann, 186.
573
Mann, 18.
574
Urton, 59.
575
Mann, 93.
576
http://www.theconnection.org/shows/2004/09/20040923_b_main.asp
225
reached Peru much earlier than Lehi. The similarities between the reed boats of Mesopotamia
and Peru are amazing, including the reed animal head placed on the bow of their boats.
Inventing the Domestication of animals – including Elephants and Swine
The Jaredites domesticated animals that they used in their work (Ether 10:25,26). The Nephites
also maintained flocks (2 Nephi 5:11, Enos 1:21 etc.). The Book of Ether uses Old World names
to describe the domesticated animals of the Jaredites: “as cattle, of oxen, and cows, and of
sheep, and of swine” (Ether 9:18). All these animals would have been classified as cattle in the
American usage of English in 1830. Again referring to Chapter five, Peruvians maintained large
herds of llamas, alpacas, vicunas, and perhaps other animals that became extinct over a four
thousand year period. What is clear is that the Incas had an array of domesticated animals
which the Spanish chroniclers described in the following account: “the lords of Cuzco made
many and very great sacrifices… a large amount of livestock in sheep and lambs was sacrificed
as well as deer and all the other animals.”
Furthermore the Jaredites domesticated elephants, or at least something they referred to by

that name (Ether 9:19). Although the soldiers of Alexander the Great saw elephants in India,
elephants were not seen in the Mediterranean region until Hannibal (247-183 BC the
Carthaginian). Prior to their arrival, the Greeks knew that the great beasts had tusks, and
226
therefore considered any animal with “tusks” as being a type of elephant, thus the Greeks
called boars, “elephants.” All the same, the speculative researcher, Graham Hancock claims
that elephants existed in the Andes during the Tiahuanaco Empire [200AD] since petroglyphs of
elephants were carved in the city’s famous Gateway of the Sun. Like Tiahuanaco’s elephants,
Hancock believes he found engravings of Toxodon heads in the city. The Toxodon was believed
to have become extinct around 10,000 BC. If the nine-feet-long and five feet-tall South
American mammal was contemporary with Tiahuanaco, which is rather doubtful, then it might
have been the Jaredite ox (Ether 9:18).
What Happened to the Wheel?
If the Jaredites transferred to Peru the Mesopotamian technologies of metallurgy, writing,

irrigated farming, textile fabrication, the sail, reed ships, and government, why didn’t the Inca
civilization incorporate the wheel? Since the wheel was invented in Mesopotamia around 4000
BC, the Jaredites must have known about it. Charles Mann notes, “Because of the Pleistocene
extinction, the Americas lacked animals suitable for domestication into beast of burden;
without animals to haul carts, individuals on rough terrain can use skids almost as
effectively.”577 Carts and chariots would have been difficult to use on the pre-Columbian
Peruvian stone highways with summit passes as high as 15,000 feet, and often included long
stretches of steps.
Also of interest is that the Jaredites wrote that they had horses (Ether 9:19), and the Nephites
recorded that they used chariots (Alma 18:9, 20:6). Until the remains of a horse are found in
the Americas that carbon-14 dates to the time of the Nephites, we must ask ourselves which
animal in the New World would have reminded the Jaredites and Nephites of a horse; at least
to the point that they gave the animal the name horse, after a similar animal they knew in the
Old World. In my opinion, the best candidate for Jaredite horses or asses is the llama (Lama) of
the Andes. As noted in Chapter six, although the llama is a member of the camel family, it does
not have a hump and has the general appearance of a small horse. When the Spaniards first
saw the Peruvian peccaries (Tayassu pecari) they called them puercos (or hogs)578 (“swine,”
Ether 9:18). In his chronicle The Discovery and Conquest of Peru, Pedro de Cieza de León
referred to peccary or tapir flesh as "hog meat."579 If the Europeans called peccaries pigs, is it
any less likely that the Jaredites would have called llamas horses?
The Indians use the llama as a beast of burden, and it is feasible that as a weapon of war the
Nephites could have harnessed several llamas to chariots with wheels or skids. The Romans
used camels to pull chariots, so why couldn’t the Nephites?580 And today several websites offer
577
Mann, 249.
578
Steward, Julian H. and Louis C. Faron, Native Peoples of South America, (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1959), 46.
579
Cieza de León, The Discovery and Conquest of Peru, edited and translated by Alexandra Parma Cook & Noble
David Cook, (Durham: Duke University Press, 1998), 59
580
Bulliet, Richard W., “Why They Lost the Wheel,” Saudi Aramco World, May/June 1973, Volume 24, Number 3,
(Drahran, Saudi Arabia, 1973), 22-25.
227
instruction on how to train llamas to pull carts.581 I have lived in Arabia for twenty-six years, so
at first the notion of harnessing a member of the camel family to a chariot seemed odd. I
thought it was impossible to have a camel trained to pull a cart. Having seen camels used in
Arabia only as pack animals, I assumed they could not pull a cart. However, on visiting India, I
saw hundreds of Arabian camels pulling heavily laden carts. Again, in most instances, the
wheeled cart is not suitable for the mountainous terrain of the Andes, and it is reasonable to
see why the technology was abandoned by the time of the Incas.
The combination of poor terrain and the Peruvian camels could be the reason the Jaredites and
Nephites gave up on the wheel. Richard W. Bulliet of Harvard University’s Center for Middle
Eastern Studies wrote:
Once, in ancient times, the Middle East teemed with carts and wagons and
chariots, but they were totally driven out by the coming of the camel.
For all the discussion there has been among archeologists about why advanced
societies such as those in pre-Colombian Central and South America never
invented wheeled transport, there has been little notice taken of the amazing
fact that Middle Eastern society willfully abandoned the use of the wheel, one
of mankind’s greatest inventions.
It was the long, slow pace of the camel, two and a half miles an hour, 20 miles a
day, for weeks on end, that spelled the demise of the wheel. Because of the
primate state of harnessing technology in the ancient East, where even a horse
could not be harnessed effectively to pull a heavy load, the camel could not he
hitched to a wagon.
The ox cart was equally slow, and in the competition the camel had certain
positive advantages.
These advantages meant that camel transport was about 20 percent cheaper
than wagon transport, according to the prices issued by the Roman emperor
Diocletian in the third century AD” 582
Since a packed camel is a faster and more economical form of transportation than the ox or
camel cart, it only makes sense that eventually the Nephites would abandon llamas pulling carts
and wagons, and used them exclusively as pack animals. A similar fate could have befallen
chariots pulled by llamas. In the long run they were ineffective in the Andes Mountains.
Invention of Writing – with a Sumerian foundation
An early proponent of scholarly archaeology and linguistics in Peru, Dr. Pablo Patrón Faustos,
studied aboriginal languages in the Andes. Because of the similarity of so many words he
581
For example see, Ron Shinnick, “Llama Driving, A Historical Perspective of Driving in the Southeastern U.S.,
http://www.ssla.org/carting_driving.htm 21 March 2007.
582
Bulliet, 22-25.
228
argued that the Quechua and Aymara languages had their roots in Sumerian language. For
example, “uru” means “day” in all Andean languages. Uru meant “daylight in Mesopotamia.
Based on his research, Patrón came to the conclusion that the American man came from
Chaldea-Assyria.583 In other words, the original homeland of Jared and his brother.
Recall that in chapter six it was noted that Peruvian explorer Gene Savoy discovered a carved
stone stela at Grand Vilaya that was inscribed with what was possibly the first known example
of pre-Columbian linear writing found in situ in South America. It was the icon of “Ophir” which
would associate the inscription with Sumer and the Jaredites.
However, Savoy’s discovery was not the first stela with possible Jaredite writing on it. In 1960 a
farmer found a stone monolith four miles south of the ruins of the ancient city of Tiahuanacu at
the south end of Lake Titicaca. At the time, the discovery was met with little interest. The stone
was placed in a church until it was rediscovered by a team of archaeologists in 2001. It is now
known as the Pokotia Monolith. Today the stone monolith resides in the Museo de Oro, a small
museum on the street Calle Jaén, La Paz, Bolivia.584 Students of the Book of Mormon should
find this monument interesting for four reasons:
1. The monolith had engravings written on its front and back.
2. The inscriptions were carved on a stone.
3. The archaeologists claim that the engravings are of Sumerian origins (Mesopotamia).
4. The monument was found near the south shore of Lake Titicaca.585
The Book of Mormon tells us that when Mosiah and his people discovered the city of Zarahemla
(northern end of Lake Titicaca), "there was a large stone brought to him with engravings on it;
and he did interpret the engravings by the gift and power of God." Mosiah also learned that a
Jaredite named Coriantumr had dwelled in Zarahemla for nine moons before his death (Omni
1:20-21). Thus the discovery of the controversial Pokotia Monolith seems remarkably consistent
with the Book of Mormon account of the Jaredites (Sumerians) and the theory that they lived in
ancient Peru and Bolivia.
Are we to believe that all of these inventions spontaneously occurred in the New World just
after they were discovered in Mesopotamia? As difficult as a voyage of eight barges would
have been from the Near East to the New World, it is far more rational to believe the Jaredite
account in the Book of Ether, than it is to assume all these technologies were invented by the
Palaeo-Indians of Peru without contact from Mesopotamia
Very Large Men
583
“Chaldean-Assrian origins of American Man”, Htts://Wikipedia.org/wike/Pablo_Patrón, Accessed April 2018.
584
https://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/arqueologia/potokia01.htm Accessed March 2018.
http://www.ancient-origins.net/artifacts-ancient-writings/exceptional-inscription-pokotia-monument-evidence-
sumerian-script-bolivia-021392. Accessed March 2018.
585
Ibid.
229
The Jaredites are believed to have been a “very large race of men.” As cited before, Father
Bernadé Cobo (1582-1657) was convinced that giants had lived along the Peruvian coast a short
period before the first Inca, and he provided several testimonials of Spaniards who had seen
the skeletons of giants. The Indians, Cobo explains, “say that giants had come there from the
south in large rafts.” In our book, Voyages of the Book of Mormon, we used sophisticated
maritime simulators to document, based on thousands of shipping logs, the best course from
Oman to Peru. The simulator indicated that the Jaredites would have crossed the Pacific Ocean
using the winds of the lower 40’s attitudes, and then sailed north along the Chilean coast to
Peru. That is, they would have reached Norte Chico from the “south.”
While serving an LDS Mission on the Altiplano of Peru/Bolivia, three elders and I spent a
preparation day visiting the ruins known as the towers of Sillustani. We hitched a ride on an
Indian flatbed truck to the ruins that were located in remote hills some 11 miles northwest of
Puno and Lake Titicaca. Today the towers are a popular tourist site, but in 1970 few people
knew of the towers, and that day we found ourselves alone at the ruins. Elder Mecham and I
were both born with an extra portion of curiosity. Near the stone towers were smaller chullpas,
white stone towers. The chullpas had small holes in one side in which a person can snake their
way into the interior of the tower. As we squeezed our way into the towers we found the
interior was only a well-like shaft that led straight down into the darkness below. As foolish as it
might seem today, without a rope, we worked our way into the shaft. I stayed near to opening
at the top of the shaft to help Elder Mecham as he precariously inched his way down the
seemingly bottomless pit. As we descended, I wondered more than once if we could make our
way back up the shaft. Mecham reached the floor about twelve feet below the small entrance.
As he stepped foot on what he thought was the floor of the shaft, he realized that whatever
was below our feet cracked as he applied our full weight. As our eyes adjusted to the very dim
light, we discovered that he was standing upon a pile of bones. The chullpas we discovered
where burial tombs. Mecham picked up skulls and handed them to me. The skulls were far
larger than the heads of the Quechua Indians who now live around the lake and were even
larger than the typical head of a modern era six-foot tall man. We knew the towers were
estimated to have been from a civilization that dated after the Jaredite civilization was
destroyed; however we still wondered whose bones these were. We were reminded of a
statement about the Jaredites that was published in the early Mormon newsletter, The Evening
and Morning Star: “they were a very large race of men; whenever we hear that uncommonly
large bones have been dug up from the earth, we may conclude that was a skeleton of a
Jaredite .”586
With the strength of youth, and a few finger and toe holds between the rocks of the shaft
surface, we were able to make our way back up the shaft and into the thin open air of the
Altiplano.
586
Evening and Morning Star, August 1832 (Kirkland, Ohio).
230
Disbursement & Demise of the Jaredites
Were the bones we discovered at the towers of Sillustani descendants of Jaredites who
survived the destruction of the Jaredite nation? Are there to this day descendants of the
Jaredites living throughout North, South and Central America? I believe it is probable and worth
speculating about the possibility.
Andeanist Gary Urton explains, “Archaeologists divide Peruvian prehistory into five major
periods, primarily on the basis of continuities and changes in ceramic shapes and styles over
time and across space. Three of these periods are known as ‘horizons,’ a term that is meant to
indicate that these were periods of relative unity in art, architecture, ritualism, and economy
over broad regions in the central Andes.”587 The first of these periods or civilizations ended in
200 BC, the time period when the last Jaredite king was discovered by the people of Zarahemla
(Omni 1:21). In my opinion, it is likely the Jaredites brought the first civilization to the Americas,
and their demise marked the end of Peru’s first horizon period. Furthermore, it seems
reasonable that as millions of Jaredites were being slaughtered in a bitter civil war that would
end with the complete destruction of their civilization, at least some of the Jaredites would
skhave launched balsa ships and sailed northward to Mesoamerica or fled into areas like the
Amazon basin. Such migrations by refugees could explain how the worship of a bearded white
god and metal working eventually reached Mexico and other parts of Central America.
Joseph Fielding Smith offered this summary of the history of the civilization known as the
Jaredites:
On this land the Jaredites multiplied and prospered, sinned and were punished,
repented and were forgiven—during a long period of years. They had among
them men holding the priesthood and a Church organization. The Lord
established his covenants with them as he did with Abraham and Israel. They
built cities and became skillful and cunning workmen in gold and silver and had a
thorough knowledge of the coming of Jesus Christ. Eventually through sin their
civilization crumbled. They killed their prophets. Plague and constant warfare
decimated them until eventually they were entirely destroyed. Their last king,
Coriantumr, lived to see another people come to possess the land which he and
his people had lost through transgression, in fulfillment of the prediction of their
first prophet, Mahonri Moriancumer.
587
Urton, 15.
231
Civilizations seldom, if ever, spring up without a predecessor civilization. Adam was taught a
culture and morals by heavenly messengers. Noah’s children civilized the plains of Shinar.
Noah’s descendants would eventually take civilization to the four corners of the Old World.
They also included a small group of pioneers, the Jaredites, who brought their culture with
them to the New World aboard their innovative barges. Oral traditions and empirical evidence
suggest that the Jaredites landed along the northern coast of Peru where they built a
sophisticated civilization for their time that rivaled the one they left.
232
Hagoth, he being an exceeding curious man,
Therefore he went forth and built him an
Exceedingly large ship. Alma 63:5
Chapter Fourteen
The Voyages of Hagoth
Explorer Gene Savoy built a replica of an Inca ship and sailed her to Hawaii. He started his
voyage to Hawaii from Callao, the port at Lima, Peru. As previously noted, Lima was the area
the Incas called the land of the people of desolation. It was by desolation but not at desolation
that Hagoth built his ships and embarked on his journeys to northward destinations (Alma
63:5). The Book of Mormon tells us that this “exceedingly curious” seaman launched his ships
from the west sea (Pacific) of the land of Bountiful on its northern borders by Desolation, by the
narrow neck of land (Alma 63:5). This book proposes that the Lurin Valley just south of Lima,
Peru is the Book of Mormon’s narrow neck of land. The valley meets all the attributes of the
Book of Mormon’s narrow neck of land and it is also just south of the what appears to be the
Book of Mormon’s land of desolation.
An important characteristic of the Lurin Valley is that it is forested with large trees from which
ships could be constructed. Another key element of the Hagoth story is the need for a
protected harbor, and one is found near the Lurin Valley. Hagoth would have needed a harbor
to fabricate his ships and launch them safely into the sea. In Peru, this would require a harbor
that provided shelter from the strong southern swells that pound South America’s western
shoreline. Just ten miles from the Lurin Valley is found the Bay of Santa Maria (12o24’37 S, 76o
46’43 W). To this day, the bay provides a safe harbor for fishing boats and pleasure vessels
alike. The Bay of Santa Maria is a candidate for where Hagoth embarked for Hawaii.
From Hawaii to Polynesia
While The LDS Church believes that Hagoth helped colonized Hawaii, it is likely that
descendants of Hagoth’s colony also spread Lehi’s seed deep into Polynesia. The prevailing
theory among many scientists is that the bulk of Polynesian ancestry came from waves after
wave of migration from southern Asia. However, we know that the people of eastern Polynesia
have within their blood the DNA of father Lehi. At the dedication of the New Zealand Temple,
President David O. McKay prayed, “We express gratitude that to these fertile lands, thou didst
guide descendants of Father Lehi, and hast enabled them to prosper…”588 The Encyclopedia of
Mormonism says of the Polynesians:
While some non-LDS scientists have insisted on their Western Hemisphere

origins, the prevailing scientific opinion from anthropological, archaeological,
588
McKay, David O., Church News, (Salt Lake City: 10 May 1959), 2,6.
233
and linguistic evidence argues a west-to-east migratory movement from
Southeast Asia that began as early as 1200 BC
What seems clear from the long-standing debate is that considerable interaction
was maintained over the centuries from many directions. The island peoples had
both the vessels and the skill to sail with or against ocean currents. It would be
as difficult to say that no group could have migrated from east to west as to
argue that opposite in absolute terms. Church leaders, who have attested to
Polynesians roots in the Nephite peoples, have not elaborated on the likelihood
of other migrating groups in the Pacific or of social mixing and intermarriage.
Throughout the Church’s history in the islands, Polynesian members have

demonstrated spiritual receptivity, maturity, and leadership. In 1990, more than
100,000 Polynesians, including approximately 30 percent of the Tongans and 20
percent of the Samoans, were members of the Church. In all areas of Polynesia,
local leaders preside over organized stakes and wards. Missionary work
continues, much of it under the direction of local mission presidents and
missionaries. In Tonga and Samoa, for example, almost the entire force of
missionaries is made up of local youth, and hundreds of others have been called
to serve missions elsewhere in the world.589
Despite attempts by some scholars, including Thor Heyerdahl, to show that the islands of the
east Pacific were primarily colonized by Native Americans, their theories for the most part have
fallen out of favor. Even so, Heyerdahl and his Kon-Tiki showed that small parties of South
American sailors could have settled among the people of eastern Polynesia. And while, such
interactions took place between tribes of the mainland of South America and the islanders of
the Pacific, the foundational culture of Polynesia existed long before Nephi’s ship entered the
Pacific Ocean.
Patrick Vinton Kirch writes, “The discovery of Lapita *culture+ and the tracing of continuous
archaeological sequences within Western Polynesia that begin with Lapita and emerge as
typical Polynesian in their material culture, totally altered these older migrationist theories.
Kenneth Emory, originally schooled in the migrationist paradigm, later in his career grasped the
significance of the new archaeological finds from Fiji, Tonga, and Samoa when he wrote that
the origins of the Polynesians would be found ‘in a western archipelago in the Polynesian area
about 1500 BC.”’590 Recent DNA maps have supported the archaeological record that, for the
most part, the Polynesians bloodlines are from Southeast Asia and that the Polynesian islands,
with the exception of Hawaii, were populated well before Hagoth set sail from Peru. Still that
would not eliminate a migration of Jaredites during the great drought in Peru circa 1500 BC (see
chapter fifteen).
589
Encyclopedia of Mormonism, Vol. 3, Polynesians)
590
Kirch, Patrick Vinton, On the Road of the Winds, Berkeley, (University of California Press, 2002), 208-209.
234
In this context, it is important to remember that President Joseph F. Smith said to the
Polynesians that “You are some *not all+ of Hagoth’s people.” While scientific evidence points to
western origins of the Polynesians, it does not exclude the real likelihood that from time to
time small groups, i.e., Hagoth’s, settled alongside and intermarried with native Polynesian
people. In such a fashion, Lehi’s seed would have spread throughout all of central and eastern
Polynesia. For example, Peruvians have fished the Pacific Ocean for thousands of years and at
times have been blown out to sea and ended up drifting to islands in eastern Polynesia. Gene
Savoy showed that replicas of Peruvian ships could sail to Hawaii, and Thor Heyerdahl showed
that balsa rafts could have drifted to the Easter Islands (Rapa Nui). From Hawaii it is likely that
Lehi's seed would have been spread throughout the Pacific Islands by Polynesian sailors who
visited the islands on trading missions. It should be remembered that in prior ages a customary
trading commodity was unmarried daughters. It is also true that a common way of preserving
homogeneous cultures between distant tribes or a common means of solidifying bonds
between tribes was to exchange brides and grooms.
Polynesian voyaging canoes were large enough to carry trading goods, including for trade
brides and skilled servants. The Hawaiian proverb, He po’e ho’opiha wa’a, translates to “Canoe
fillers,” meaning useless people or riders in the canoe who did not help the crew. Another
proverb from the islands, Ha’alele koa wa’a i koa kanaka, translated to “The koa canoe
departed, leaving the warriors behind.” This was said when the voyaging canoe departed and
left people behind.591 Over the ages, certainly some of the “canoe fillers” could have been
descendants of Hagoth from Hawaii or other Peruvians via Easter Island. For example, Thor
Heyerdahl was convinced that Peruvian stone masons practiced their trade on Rapa Nui (Easter
Island). And scientists have wondered how the native South America sweet potato became a
food staple throughout Polynesia. Perhaps better questions would be: Who were the women
who carried the sweet potato with them and who cooked it for their families? Or who are the
descendants of these stone-carving South Americans?
What is often unappreciated is that DNA markers mask the introduction of small groups of
people into a greater population, and as such have little meaning when it comes to the broad
standards for membership in the house of Israel. According to Scott Woodward, director of the
Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation, when a small group of people intermarry into a
much larger population, their DNA marker could disappear completely even though millions of
people have descended from the small group.592 It is reasonable to believe that mitochondria
mtDNA from South America would have been completely masked by the DNA of the native
Polynesians. Mitochondria mtDNA is passed on through mothers, and is the type of DNA that is
primarily used for tracking ancestry. While brides might have been occasionally exchanged,
most South Americans who traveled to Polynesia would have been men on trading voyages,
warriors, or lost fishermen.
591
Pukui, Mary Kawena, lelo Noeau, Hawaiian Proverbs and Poetical Sayings, (Hawaii: Bishop Musecum Press,
1983), 1,2.
592
De Gotte, Michael, “Hebrew DNA found in South America?” Deseret News (Salt Lake City: Deseret News –
Mormon News – 12 May, 2008. http://www.deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,700225191,00.html.
235
On the other hand, it would seem quite naïve to believe that the Polynesians who sailed great
distances among the Pacific Islands were not partially descendants of people from the
American continents that were to their east. Certainly, islanders would have ventured to the
Americas, and sailors from the promised land would have ventured to islands of the Pacific. In
combination, these sailors of the Pacific spread the seed of Lehi across the world’s largest
ocean. Here is an excerpt from a letter written by the First Presidency to the Saints of the New
Zealand Mission in response to their request that an Apostle attend a New Zealand Mission
conference. The conference was in conjunction with the unveiling of a national monument
erected to the memory of Chief Tamahau in Papawai, New Zealand. This was a national event,
not a Church event. They convened for a mission conference at this time because many of the
Saints would be gathering for the unveiling of the monument. The letter is written in such a
manner as to suggest that it was read from the pulpit.
February 6, 1911
To the Officers and Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints of
the New Zealand Mission, in General Conference assembled:
[This excerpt is several pages into the letter]
But here, beloved brethren and sisters, let us pause a moment and raise the
question in our own minds, why you, in common with others of your race
inhabiting the isles of the sea, were to be more greatly blessed and favored of
the Lord than the rest of the remnant of the house of Israel inhabiting this our
land of America? Was it because of any desire on the part of our Heavenly Father
to bestow blessings upon you, upon your brethren and sisters of Samoa, Hawaii,
Tahiti, and other places, over and above those of your brothers and sisters, also
of the house of Israel, living on the American continent?
No, it was simply because your forefathers, who were first moved upon to
occupy the isles of the sea, and who did so under the immediate overruling hand
of the God of your fathers, were better than the rest of their brethren who
occupied this continent, [and] because they were more obedient and more
faithful, the Lord in His superior wisdom, directed their course away from this
continent to their island homes, that they might be separated from their more
wicked, disobedient brethren, that they might not be left to be preyed upon and
destroyed by the more wicked part of the house of Israel [...].
This, dear brethren and sisters, is the key to your preservation as a nation, also
to the preservation of your brothers and sisters of the other isles of the sea
before mentioned, and this is the secret of the overruling hand of providence
which has been over you all from that time until you received the gospel through
the preaching of the elders [...].
And we repeat, the reason that you of the isles of the sea have been more highly
favored and blessed of the Lord than those of your brethren of this continent is
236
because of the worthiness of your forefathers who were led away and separated
from their brethren of this continent, and because of the blessing of the Lord
which has attended you, their children, from that time to the present.593
The remarkable sailing legacy of the eastern Polynesians began when the first settlers landed in
Samoa and Tonga aboard voyaging canoes. Aboard these vessels they carried plants, animals,
and the language of their place of origins. These original colonizers of the islands of the eastern
Pacific established in Samoa and Tonga the cradle of Polynesia. From this cultural birthplace,
bold sailors eventually boarded canoes and explored northward as far as Hawaii, eastward to
the Rapa Nui, and southwest to New Zealand. This process of discovering the distant islands of
the Pacific took the Polynesians over two thousand years. To their credit, these brave sailors
had colonized the vast Pacific long before the Europeans began their Age of Exploration. 594
The Polynesians command of the entire Pacific is illustrated by a story Conrad Dickson tells.
Conrad is the co-author of Voyages of the Book of Mormon. For four years, Conrad crabbed and
fished in the waters of the Shumagin Islands and Aleutian Islands that are located in the Gulf of
Alaska and the Bering Sea. During these years, Conrad met a man he called Grandfather Gilbert.
The elderly man had come asking for work one day. During the interview, Conrad found out
that the man was 68 years-old but had never worked for wages. Grandfather Gilbert had been
a fisherman and trapper his entire life. At the time, he was out of food and heating oil and was
hoping he could work through the winter until he could go gill-netting salmon. It was standard
policy in Alaska to put the needy to work. During the winter months, Conrad and Grandfather
Gilbert became friends and shared many stories.
At the time, Conrad had been reading and studying about Polynesians and their trade route
that started in Hawaii, thence to Japan, then to Alaska via Aleutian and Shumagan, Islands, then
to south eastern Alaska, then down the outside of Vancouver Island and on to the
Washington/Oregon/California coasts and finally back to Hawaii. A discussion came up between
Conrad and Grandfather Gilbert if there were any knowledge of these Polynesian voyages that
had been handed down from early times. Grandfather Gilbert said that when his great great-
grandfather was a young boy of eight, which he estimated to be at about the year 1800, a
Polynesian twin-hulled vessel of about 80-feet long with two inverted sails arrived late in the
season and decided to winter in the Shumagan Islands on Popof Island. All the Hawaiians wore
fur seal-skin cloths, parkas, boots, and gloves that were constructed to be water tight. The
vessel was full of trade goods, food, salt, spices, fresh water stored in containers, and much
fishing gear. As a confirmation of Grandfather Gilbert’s information, Conrad learned from the
Aleuts that Hawaiians had been trading in the Aleutian and Shumagin Islands on their way back
to Hawaii for as long as history could be remembered.
593
First Presidency Letterpress Copybooks CR 1/20 Vol. 47, Reel #42
594
Kane, Herb Hawainui, “In Search of the Ancient Polynesian Voyaging Canoe,” (Polynesian Voyaging Society, 2
October 2007), 1. http://pvs.kcc.hawaii.edu/designing .html.
237
John L. Sorenson has studied the distribution of plants across the Pacific and believes that such
botanical evidence proves ancient sailors were trading throughout the Pacific. He writes:
Methods of research familiar to botanists who study the distribution of plants

were also involved in our study. For example, turmeric, Curuma longa, was
originally Asiatic (it had names in Sanskrit, Chinese, Hebrew, and Arabic), and
from there it spread eastward throughout many Pacific islands. So when we
learn that turmeric was also grown by native people in the remote Amazon River
drainage of eastern Peru, the conclusion seems inescapable—it was carried to
South America, presumably from the islands, on some prehistoric voyage.
Other evidence from distributions concerns that of the bottle gourd, Lagenario
siceraria. Some have proposed that it was capable of drifting across an ocean,
although scientists are uncertain whether seeds would still grow after a months-
long float to some American beach. But the gourd was absent from western
Polynesia, although it does appear in the islands of eastern Polynesia. Obviously,
the gourd did not drift from island to island all the way across the Pacific to Peru
or else the species would have grown in western Polynesia as well. Yet it
appeared in an archaeological site on the coast of Peru almost 5,000 years ago.
The only scenario that makes sense of these facts has Asian mariners carrying
gourds in their vessels from Asia or the western Pacific to western South America
thousands of years ago. Later voyages could have carried the plant to eastern
Polynesia, but not farther west, from the mainland aboard vessels like the Kon-
Tiki raft.595
Ancient trading between the Pacific islands is not speculation. Hard archaeological evidence
backs the Polynesian oral traditions, botanical research, and linguistic clues. While conducting
research for Hawaii’s Bishop Museum, anthropologist Kenneth Emory discovered several
basalt-stone adzes in Tuamotus in central Polynesia. Volcanic rock does not exist naturally on
the coral atolls of the Tuamotus. Chemical analysis by the University of Queensland in Australia
indicates that the basalt rock of the Tuamotus’ adzes originated in Hawaii, nearly 2,500 miles
away:
This innovative multi-discipline research by the University of Queensland

researchers has provided the first physical confirmation of the remarkable
voyages from Hawai’i to central Polynesia that are documented in the oral
histories.
By confirming the extent of ancient interisland trade within East Polynesia, they
have also resolved a fundamental and long-standing archaeological problem
concerning migration and cultural exchange within East Polynesia, the last region
on Earth settled by humans during prehistory. This uninterrupted travel between
595
Sorenson, “Anicent Voyages Across the Ocean to America,” 4,5.
238
Hawai’i and the Tuamotus represents the longest documented voyage in world
prehistory.596
Linguist Karl H. Rensch believes that the South America sweet potato reached Polynesia at least
twice: once via Hawaii and again by way of the Easter Islands.597 The oral traditions of Peru,
Easter Island (Rapa Nui), and Hawaii confirm that trade interactions existed between the
ancient islanders and the native people of the Americas. In addition, replica ships constructed
by Thor Heyerdahl, Gene Savoy, and Phil Buck have demonstrated that Peruvian sailors
possessed the technology to reach Hawaii and Easter Island. Indeed, it would be naïve to
suggest that descendants of Lehi did not sail aboard Polynesian voyaging canoes. Not only
would they be among the Polynesian crews, they certainly intermarried among peoples of the
Pacific islands.
Extraordinary maritime skills of the Polynesians
Undoubtedly the most amazing feat of Polynesian sailors was their ability to successfully
navigate the massive waters of the Pacific Ocean and return to their own tiny islands. Without
this ability to sail between Pacific islands, the seed of Lehi would never have spread from
Hawaii and Easter Island to the far distant isles of New Zealand, Fiji, Samoa, Tonga, Tahiti,
Micronesia, etc. The question begs to be answered: How did they accomplish these amazing
voyages without navigating instruments?
The answer lies in the Polynesian ability to carefully observe nature’s signals. The most
important of these skills was the ability to develop a mental construct of the sky or what is
known as a star map. The Hawaiians knew the houses of the stars, that is, the places where the
stars ascended from the ocean and fall back into the sea. Having memories of the star houses,
Polynesian navigators could use them to read the flight path of birds and determine the
direction of the waves. Altogether, the ancient sailors could determine the direction they were
traveling.598
The heavens were not the only compass nature provided these remarkable sailors. They could
also read the position of the sun and even read the path of the sun upon the water when the
sun first rose above the sea. The width and color of the sun’s path on the water helped the
Polynesian navigators determine the exact position of the sun when it rose. From the position
of the sun, the navigator could memorize the direction of the wind and the direction of the
wind-generated swells. At sunset, the same information would be determined based on the
position of 220 stars. Of these stars, the most important were those of the steady Southern
Cross, the southern hemisphere’s version of the North Star.599
596
Bishop Museum (no author stated), “Unraveling the Mystery: The Hawaii and Tuamotus Connection, (Hawaii:
Bishop Museum, 2008) 1-2, see http://www.bishopmuseum.org/media/2007/pr07093.html, 3/3/2008.
597
Sorenson, “Anicent Voyages Across the Ocean to America,” 4.
598
Kawaharada, Dennis, “Wayfinding, or Non-Instrument Navigation,” (Hawaii: Polynesian Voyaging Society,
2007), 1. http://pvs.kcc.hawaii.edu/navigate/navigate.html 2/10/2007.
599
Ibid., 1-2.
239
But what did the Polynesian sailors do when the sky was cloudy and the sun and stars failed to
reveal the ships position and direction? It was then that these sailors read the ocean itself. They
used the predetermined direction of the swells to fix a course to sail. Dennis Kawaharada of the
Polynesian Voyaging Society explains:
During midday and on cloudy nights when celestial bodies are not available at
the horizon as direction clues, the navigator uses the winds and swells to hold a
course. However, the direction of wind and swells cannot be determined
independently; their direction can only be determined by reference to celestial
bodies such as the rising or setting sun.
Swells are waves that have traveled beyond the wind systems or storms that
have generated them, or waves that persist after the generating storm has died
away. Swells are more regular and stable in their direction than waves.
(“Waves,” as opposed to “swells,” are generated by local, contemporary winds.)
Sometimes swells can be felt better than they can be seen, having flattened out
after traveling long distances. In the Pacific, the northeast trade winds generated
a northeast swell; the southeast tradewinds created a southeast swell, and so
on. Storms in the South Pacific during the Hawaiian summer generate a south
swell; storms in the north Pacific during the Hawaiian winter generate a north
swell.
Swells move in a straight line from one house of the star compass to a house of
the same name on the opposite side of the horizon, 180 o away. Thus, a swell
from the direction of Manu Ko’olau (NE) will pass under the canoe and head in
the direction of Manu Kona (SE). A swell from ‘Aina Malanai (ESE) will pass under
the canoe and head in the direction of ‘Aina Ho’olua (WNW).
The navigator can orient the canoe to these swells. For example, if the canoe is
heading SE Manu with a swell coming from the SE Manu, the person steering
keeps the canoe heading directly into the swell, which lifts the bow, and passes
beneath, then lifts the stern. If the canoe is traveling SW, a SE swell would roll
the canoe from side to side, lifting first the port hull, then starboard hull as it
passes beneath.600
Ka manu kahea i ka wa’a e holo, “The bird that calls the canoe to sail.”
--Hawaiian Voyaging Proverb601
Land-based seabirds were especially helpful to ancient Polynesians. In the mornings

they fly out from their islands to feed. As night falls, they fly back to the islands to rest.
The direction of their flight is direct, thus allowing the navigator to following their
course to the island. However, seabirds were not the only sign that the canoe was close
600
Ibid, 5-6
601
Pukui, 1.
240
to an island. Drifting land vegetation, cloud formations that are common to islands, the
glow of sunlight or moonlight off the white sands of a beach or reef, and the refracting
pattern of the waves off of an island were important indicators that they were near
landfall.602
Brothers amidst the sea
How Lehi’s seed spread throughout Polynesia is no mystery--Polynesian traders made routine
voyages between the islands. We know this because of the uniformity of the Polynesian culture
within the dispersed islands. From Fiji to Easter Island and from New Zealand to Hawaii, the
Polynesians considered each other as brothers. Linguistically and culturally, they were
connected, and in such a manner homogeneously that it could only have been as a result of
constant connections.
In addition, the Book of Mormon tells us that the Nephites were skilled shipbuilders and
experienced seaman. Inca oral traditions suggest that South America seaman traded with far off
islands, perhaps as far as Hawaii. Thor Heyerdahl believed the oral traditions of Easter Island
clearly indicated that fair-skinned traders from South America visited the remote islands.
Backing up his claim, Heyerdahl and later Phil Buck used ancient Andean technology to
construct balsa and reed ships and sailed them successful from South America to Polynesia.
Gene Savoy showed that ancient Peruvian shipbuilding technology could reach Hawaii by
building his replica ship the Feathered Servant III. Far from being unlikely that occasional
contacts were made between the descendants of the Book of Mormon peoples and the
Polynesians, it is highly naïve to think otherwise. Over the millennia there would have been
hundreds of contacts and small colonization efforts in many directions. From these regular
contacts, the remarkable sailing skills of the Polynesians transferred the seed of Lehi
throughout the Polynesian Pacific.
Once again we return to Hagoth and his northward journeys. The harbor near the Lurin Valley is
12o24 degrees south latitude. Hawaii is far to the north of Peru at 19 o89 degrees north latitude.
The ruins of Mesoamerica, such as Chichén-Itza are slightly north of Hawaii at 21o16 degrees
north latitude, meaning that if Hagoth sailed from Mesoamerica he would have sailed due west
into the sunset. When trying to decipher the geography of the Book of Mormon, it is important
to remember that in all of the Americas, the only course to Hawaii that would begin with a
northward leg is South America. To reach Hawaii from Peru, one would sail northward on the
Humboldt Current before making a westward turn for the islands. While sailing north from Peru
would have provided a strong current and favorable trade winds, Hagoth’s voyages were far
from easy. Indeed, his achievements stands as another witness to Nephite’s sailing capabilities.
Learn more about Hagoth and the Polynesian sailors by reading Voyages of the Book of
Mormon which can be ordered through www.nephiproject.com or http://www.cedarfort.com.
602
Ibid. 7.
241
Figure 47 Camels in Wadi Darbet where frankincense and myrrh grow and where Nephi bulit his ship. Courtesy of R. Putman.
And when they were come into the house,
they saw the young child with Mary his mother,
and they fell down, and worshipped him,
and when they had opened their treasures,
they presented unto him gifts;
gold, and frankincense, and myrrh. Matthew 2:11
242
Chapter Fifteen
The Book of Mormon Solves a Christmas Mystery
Since I was a child, I have wondered about the story in the gospel of Matthew regarding the
wise men. Traditionally it is thought that there were three Magi, but the actual number the
Bible does not tell us. All we know is that sometime after the birth of Jesus Christ the wise men
"from the east" (Matthew 2:1) came to "Jerusalem," and then continued following a "star" until
they eventually found the Christ child, presented him gifts, and worshiped him.
Perhaps you also found that this story raises many questions in your mind. Matthew wrote that
the wise men saw "his star" and came to "worship him" (Matthew 2:1). Note carefully, the
record does not say an angel visited the wise men and announced that the star indicated that a
Messiah had been born. Nor does the account say that they received a revelation or a dream,
as when they were warned in a dream not to return to Herod (Matthew 2:13). Wouldn't you
think that if the wise men had had such divine interventions that Matthew would have
recorded these divine gifts of the spirit?
Instead, we are simply told that they saw the star and came to worship the King of the Jews. For
the sake of this discussion, let's assume that they did not receive this knowledge in the form of
divine inspiration, but inherited this information from the oral and written traditions of their
forefathers. The LDS dictionary states of the wise men: "Their knowledge was precise and
accurate."603 If so, what was the source of their precise and accurate information?
The wise men's knowledge was exact, but appeared not to have been widely distributed. They
seem to be the only ones who knew about the Savior’s birth. One could argue that the
knowledge of the Lord's birth could have been foretold to prophets in other lands. However,
outside of the Book of Mormon there is absolutely no evidence to the theory that sacred
603
LDS Bible Dictionary, Magi.
243
scriptures in some other distant land foretold of the Messiah's birth. Bruce R. McConkie wrote:
"The sign of the star was given to announce the birth of the Star of Israel, but only those who
had faith, those who were waiting for the Consolation of Israel--the wise men from the East and
a cluster of faithful souls in Palestine and in the Americas--only these few knew what it
meant."604
Knowing where the wise men came from could help us find the source of this knowledge. There
are nine clues in text that can help us pinpoint with some degree of certainty the origins of the
magi.
First, the wise men came "from the east." In the Bible, east did not necessarily mean a land to
the east of Jerusalem, i.e., Central Asia or China or any other land in an eastward direction from
Jerusalem. Rather, it was the name the Israelites gave to a people, the Arabs. In the Old
Testament the Arabs were called "the Children of the East."605 Perhaps this is the reason the
wise men are traditionally associated with camels. Several of Abraham's sons and grandsons by
his concubine wives established kingdoms in Arabia: Ishmael (Mecca), Kedar, Dumah, Dedan,
Sheba, and Tema. Genesis 25:6 states that "Abraham sent away the sons of his concubines
eastward to the Land of the East." History tells us that all these ancient kingdoms were found in
Arabia, and we can still locate them on maps of Arabia.606
Second, throughout history, the Israelites held in high regard the business skills of the Arab
merchants and thought of these businessmen as "wise." Biblical scholar James Montgomery
writes:
If Edom is specially singled out as a home of wisdom, we have to remember that

it lay across the great trade-routes of northwest Arabia and so could have
enjoyed a privilege in culture such as that possessed by Edom's successor, the
Nabatean folk, and its ancient neighbor, the North-Minaean colony in Midian. In
addition to these allusions to the Wise Men of the East there are two biblical
passages which one tradition of interpretation assigns to an Arabian home,
namely, Proverbs 30, and 31:1-9. By a different construction the title of the latter
can be made to read, more sensibly than by the Masoretic construction, "the
words of Lemuel the king of Massa," i.e., the latter word as the name of the
Arabian tribe to the east of Palestine.607
Montgomery's belief that the Israelites considered the Arab merchants as possessing "wisdom"
seems to be confirmed by the Biblical words of Job, when he describes his friend the Temanite
Eliphaz. Tema is located in northwest Arabia and was a key trading center along the important
incense trail. Job wrote that the Temanite received their traditions "from wise men and their
fathers" (Job 15:18). Eliphaz the Temanite seems to have taught that in ancient times there was
a perceived relationship between wisdom and business success: Eliphaz the Temanite said,
604
McConkie, Bruce R., The Mortal Messiah, Vol.2, (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1990), 223.
605
LDS Bible Dictionary, Arabia.
606
LDS Bible, 1979 Edition with maps, see map: “Ancient World at the Time of The Patriarchs”.
607
Miles, S.B. The Countries and Tribes of the Gulf, 2nd Ed. (London: Frank Case & Co., 1966), 357.
244
"Should a wise man utter vain knowledge, and fill his belly with the east wind? Should he
reason with unprofitable talk?" (Job 15:1-3). Indeed the Bible declares of the Arab merchants of
Tema: "Is wisdom no more in Teman? Is counsel perished from the prudent? Is their wisdom
vanished?" (Jeremiah 49:6).
Even Solomon's divine gift of wisdom seems to be in part a result of God blessing him in his
clever trading relationships with the Arabs. Solomon established his kingdom as the principle
middleman for the overland incense trade. 1 Kings Chapter 10 tells of his dealings with the
Queen of Sheba, the ruler of the wealthy southern Arabia frankincense kingdom. She came to
Solomon on what we call today a "trade mission." As a result of this meeting, both Solomon and
the kingdom of Sheba in southern Arabia prospered. And she gave the king a hundred and
twenty talents of gold, and of spices very great store, and precious stones: there came no more
such abundance of spices as these which the queen Sheba gave to king Solomon (1 Kings
10:10). In return, “king Solomon gave unto the queen of Sheba all her desires, whatsoever she
asked, beside that which Solomon gave her of his royal bounty. So she turned and went to her
own country, she and her servants” (1 Kings 10:13). And what was the bottom line of Solomon's
trade relations with Arabia? "So king Solomon exceeded all the kings of the earth for riches and
for wisdom" (1 Kings 10:22).
Third, the wise men followed a star. In other words, they knew stellar navigation. This clue
definitely identifies the wise men who were probably Arabs to a new star that was a sign of the
Messiah’s birth. Stellar navigation was not common knowledge in the ancient world. The first
to learn this skill were the Arab caravaneers who used the stars to guide them through the
featureless wasteland of the Arabian deserts. This knowledge was later utilized by the Arab ship
captains to navigate the open seas. Indeed, the Arabs were the first to sail the open seas using
the stars only to guide them.608
It is even possible that the ability of the Arabs to recognize a "new star arise" (Helaman 14:5)
was passed down to them from generation to generation starting with Abraham, the father of
most Arabs. If so, the necessity to navigate in the featureless deserts of Arabia would have
forced the Arabs to retain this vital skill. The Qur'an of the Arabs states that Abraham was an
observer of the heavens: "When the night covered him [Abraham], he saw a star...When he saw
the moon rising in splendor...When he saw the sun rising..." (Qur'an 6:75-78). We know that it
was "given" unto Abraham to "know the set time of all the stars that are set to give light"(Book
of Abraham 3:10). But Abraham did not worship the stars, rather according to the Qur'an
Abraham "saw a star, ...but when it set, he said, "I love not those that set'" (Qur'an 6: 76). Does
this imply then that Abraham loved only the star that didn't set, the one that remained above
Palestine to mark the Messiah's birth? And what better sign to give the sky observing Arabs
than a new star?
Fourth, the oral tradition of southern Arabia holds that the Magi were from their land. The
British Explorer Barbara Toy studied the origins of the Magi and retraced their journey from a
608
Miles, 357.
245
monument in southeastern Yemen where by tradition the Magi began their journey to
Jerusalem. She writes:
It was from here that the Three Wise Men began their journey to follow the
bright star to Bethlehem with their tributes of gold, frankincense and myrrh. And
it was around here also it is believed, that three hundred years later the
emissaries of the Empress Helena came searching for 'Sessania Adrumatorum'-
the Azzan of today. They found the bones of the Magi and took them to
Constantinople where they stayed until later taken to Constantinople where they
stayed until later taken to Milan, and finally in the twelfth century to Cologne.609
Fifth, the wise men brought gold with them. The wise men must have been wealthy tribal
leaders with stores of gold. During that period of history, it is widely believed that the
Frankincense trade had made southern Arabia the wealthiest region in the world. Gold,
probably traded by Indians for Frankincense, was abundant in the region. Isaiah talks of the
great wealth of the southern Arabs (Sheba), noting that they bring with them, gold and incense
(Isaiah 60:6). Daniel Peterson writes:
The great wealth of Arabian merchants is mentioned in several places in the

Bible. "Who is this that cometh out of the wilderness like pillars of smoke,
perfumed with myrrh and frankincense, with all powders of the merchant? Asks
the Song of Solomon (Songs of Solomon 3:6) Ezekiel refers to "Sabaeans from
the wilderness, which put bracelets upon their hands, and beautiful crowns upon
their heads" (Ezekiel 23:42). Arabian merchants are routinely linked by the Old
Testament with gold and silver, incense, spices, and precious stones (2
Chronicles, Isaiah 60:6, Jeremiah 6:29, Ezekiel 27:22).610
As discussed earlier, Bible scholars believe that the harbor of Ophir was located at Khor Rori,
the most likely place where Nephi and the Jaredites built their ships. And what was Ophir most
famous for? Gold! The LDS Bible dictionary states of Ophir, “A country whence gold was
brought, probably a port of southern Arabia.”611
Sixth, the wise men brought precious incense with them, specifically frankincense and myrrh. In
antiquity the exclusive source of these incenses was the Dhofar area of southern Oman, the
exact area were Ophir/Khor Rori is located. The incense was usually carried on the backs of
camels to the north. In Genesis we read how Joseph was sold by his brothers to an Ishmaelite
(Arab) caravan bearing spicery, balm, and myrrh (Genesis 37:25).
Seventh, the LDS Bible Dictionary states that the wise men were "likely...representatives of a
branch of the Lord's people."612 This would seem to imply that the wise men were Jews, or at
609
Toy, Barbara, The Highway of the Three Kings, Arabia - From South to North (London: John Murray, 1968), 19.
610
Peterson, Daniel, Abraham Divided, An LDS Perspective on the Middle East, (Salt Lake City: Aspen Books, 1995)
49.
611
LDS Bible Dictionary, 1979 edition, Ophir.
612
LDS Bible Dictionary, 1979 edition, Magi.
246
least Hebrews (as are most Arabs). Assuming the former, historical records indicate that several
sizable Jewish settlements were located in Arabia dating back at least to the time of Jeremiah.
Of course, the Jewish diaspora had started long before the birth of Christ, thus Jewish
communities existed in other locations in the Roman Empire; however, the Arabian Jewish
communities were large and had existed in Arabia for centuries before the Lord's birth.
Eighth, the title magi is a Persian title. In pre-Islamic times, Oman was ruled by the Achaemenid
Empire of Persia.613 Oman in southern Arabia is where Nephi built his ship and presumably he
and his father taught the gospel during the years it took to complete the construction of the
vessel (D&C 33:7-8). Tribal religious leaders coming from Oman at the time of Christ birth would
have been called by the official Persian titles magi.
Nine, camels, not a chosen means of transportation from southern Arabia to Jerusalem, it was
the only means of travel. The Arabs consider the camel a gift from God. Camels are the only
animals that can feed on the fodder found along the incense trail and are the only pack animals
that can sustain such long journey’s between watering holes. If the wise men came from Ophir
in southern Arabia, they rode or walked beside their camels.
I believe it is reasonable to conclude that the wise men came from southern Arabia. Knowing
this, we can now return to our question, "How did the wise men obtain a precise and accurate
knowledge of Christ birth?" Let's start by reviewing information we know they possessed.
1) When wise men saw the new star and realized it was a 'sign': indeed, it was "his star"
(Matthew 2:2). Only the wise men are recorded as having seen a “star”( Matthew 2:2). The wise
men must have been expert stellar observers, for they saw the star yet Herod and his court
chief priest and scribes appear to have not seen the star or have not known its
meaning?(Matthew 2:3-8) Further, the wise men first observed the star “in the east” – thus
while in Arabia. They used the star and their amazing navigation skills to find the exact location
of the Christ child (Matthew 2:9). Since they were the only people who apparently saw the star
and knew it was a sign in the old world, they must have known 'when' to look for it. Indeed, it
seems they had been waiting a great time for the sign, for when they saw the star again "they
rejoiced with exceeding great joy" (Matthew 2:10).
2) The wise men knew that a king would be born to the "Jews" (Matthew 2:2). Thus they came
to Jerusalem and to Herod in the land of the Jews.
3) Although they knew the Christ child was to be born to the Jews, they didn't know the exact
location in Judah. Thus we read of them asking Herod, "Where is he that is born King of the
Jews?" (Matthew 2:2). They finally ended up following the star once again to the location of the
child (Matthew 2:9).
Prior to the coming forth of the Book of Mormon in the modern era, Christendom had no
explanation of how wise men living in Arabia could have obtained knowledge of the Savior’s
613
Encyclopedia Iranica, Arab i Arabs and Iran in the Pre-Islamic World.
http://www.iranicaonliNephiorg/articles/arab-i, Accessed April 2018.
247
birth. However, the Book of Mormon provides a simple explanation of how this knowledge
could have reached southern Arabia, or at least the Jewish communities in the peninsula. We
know that Lehi was in route to Bountiful for eight years (1 Nephi 17:4), and undoubtedly spent
a few more years in southern Arabia while Nephi built his ship. During this time Nephi, and
probably Lehi, taught the gospel (see D&C 33:7,8). Perhaps they preached exclusively to the
Jewish communities in Arabia, but this is not necessarily the case since the gospel seems to
have been found among the Arab Hebrews as well as the Jews. For example, Jethro, a Midianite
(northwest Arabia) held the Holy Priesthood (D&C 84:6) and Arabs were present at the day of
Pentecost (Acts 2:11). Thus, there was no shortage of Hebrews, Jews and Arabs, to whom Nephi
and Lehi could have shared the gospel.
So what unique knowledge did Lehi and Nephi carry with them into southern Arabia? In the
valley of Lemuel, Lehi received a revelation containing information on the Savior’s birth: "Yea,
even six hundred years from the time that my father left Jerusalem, a prophet would the Lord
God raise up among the Jews-even a Messiah, or, in other words, a Savior of the world" (1
Nephi 10:4). Certainly, Lehi and Nephi would have transferred this exciting and profound
information to the people they converted in Arabia. Thus, the descendants of Lehi’s converts
would have been waiting patiently for six hundred years for a sign, and as the centuries
elapsed, and six hundred years approached they would have intensified their search for a sign.
Next, we see from the above verse that Lehi knew where the Messiah would be born-"among
the Jews.” It is curious that Nephi did not record that a new star would appear. There are two
possible reasons why this information was omitted. 1) The Lord didn't give this information to
Lehi, knowing it was unnecessary, since the sky-tracking Arab wise men would have recognized
a new-non-setting star over Palestine, the land where Lehi had told them the Messiah would be
born. 2) It was not considered necessary since the sign of the star was already part of the
common traditions of the children of Lehi. A possible clue to this later possibility, is that the
prophecy Samuel mentions the new star when he preached repentance to the Nephi’s
(Helaman 14:5).
Finally, Lehi could have taught the ancestors of the wise men that they should worship the
child. To Old Testament monotheists this would have been a revolutionary concept...worshiping
someone besides the one true God. Lehi knew that Jesus would be more than just another
prophet, he would be the Messiah, the Savior and Redeemer of the world (1 Nephi 10:4,5). At
first glance this seems to contradict what the wise men said, "Where is he that is born King of
the Jews?" This suggests that they were looking for a political figure. However, they followed
this by noting that they "are come to worship him"(Matthew 2:2). Thus, the wise men must
have known that the child was the Son of God, the Messiah. It is interesting to note that Joseph
Smith corrected the Bible account rephrasing Matthew 2:2 as follows, "Where is the child that
is born, the Messiah of the Jews?" It is clear from Joseph Smith's translation that the wise men
knew that the appearance of a star that year meant that the Messiah had been born. This
knowledge must have come through Lehi, who was taught by the Lord that "a prophet would
the Lord God raise up among the Jews-even a Messiah" (1 Nephi 10:4).
248
The knowledge possessed by the wise men was precious, and they acquired this information in
their homeland, undoubtedly Arabia. To this day, the Christian world has only one explanation
as to how the wise men knew where and when the Messiah was to be born, it is the Book of
Mormon.
Enjoy with your family more insights into the journey of the wise men by reading my children’s
Christmas story, The Wise Men of Bountiful. The book is available through either
www.nephiproject.com or www.cedarfort.com.
249
250
Conclusion
In my prior books and documentary films, I showed the likely images of the Valley of Lemuel,
Lehi’s Trail, the Old and New World Bountiful, the journeys of Nephi, the cities of Nephi and
Zarahemla, the narrow neck of land, and many other Book of Mormon sites. These images have
helped artists begin to portray the Book of Mormon in a more accurate fashion and have
helped students of the book to have a better understanding of the geographic and
environmental conditions of Book of Mormon events. But what about the descendants of the
Nephites, Lamanites, and Jaredites? Can we fashion a more accurate picture of who they are
today.
Robert Starling, sent me an article by the People of One Fire of the National Alliance of
Muskogean scholars (www.peopleofonefire.com). The article was titled “Totonac, Maya,
Arawak, Tupi-Guarani and Quechua Mercantile Words in the Indigenous Languages of the
Southeastern United States” (May 27, 2013). The article claims to provide evidence that the
South Atlantic Coastal indigenous peoples had trading alliances with Mesoamerican peoples
and as far away as ancient Peru. If true, the evidence supports the Nephi Project’s theory that
the Nephites and Lamanites of ancient South America not only traded with, but mixed their
DNA with indigenous peoples far north of Panama. The ancient Peruvians had trading ships
which were known to have carried goods and migrants to the Polynesian Islands, and
undoubtedly the entire length of the west Pacific coast and up the Atlantic seaboard. Like those
aboard Hagoth’s fleet, these pioneers spread the seed of Lehi throughout the Americas and the
isles of the sea. Quoting from the article:
Dr. Jerald T. Milanich is the curator of Archaeology at the Florida Museum of

Natural History at the University of Florida in Gainesville. He is also an Adjunct
Professor in the Department of Anthropology Center for Latin American Studies
at the University of Florida.
In several publications he wrote during the 1990s, Dr. Milanich speculated that
the Timucua Indians might not have been a distinct ethnic group, but rather
descended from separate bands of hybrid traders, who frequented the South
Atlantic Coast so often that they eventually settled there. In one of his latest
publications, Milanich commented that the Natives around Charlesfort (South
Carolina) and Fort Caroline portrayed by 16th century artist, Jacques Le Moyne,
displayed South American cultural traits, not those traditionally associated with
Southeastern Indians.
Dr. Milanich was correct on both counts. He was oh so on the money. The
proofs of his hunches were always there right in the faces of anthropologists . . .
in the etymology of the word, Timucua.
251
French Huguenot Captain René de Laudonniére observed that the Native
Provinces around Port Royal Sound, SC observed a form of the Green Corn
Festival, but worshiped the South American and Calusa sun god, Toya? Their
kings were called Paracus [Peru]. That is a Moche [Peru] title and ethnic name.
....In 2012, Towns County, GA families who always thought of themselves as

Cherokees, or even were members of the Eastern Band of Cherokees, were
found to carry Quechua [Peru], Maya and a trace of probable Muskogean DNA
indicators, but absolutely no similarity to the DNA profiles of Cherokees on the
North Carolina reservation, +/- 50 miles away? Towns County is east of Track
Rock Gap and Brasstown Bald Mountain. Some “card-carrying Towns County
“Cherokees” carried as much as 25% Quechua-Maya DNA. A recent,
comprehensive DNA study of the reservation found the NC Cherokees to be
primarily a Middle Eastern & Mediterranean population – probably descended
from 17th century Spanish Sephardic colonists.
…so…what French Captain René Goulaine de Laudonniére wrote down as

Thamagoa, would be written as Tamacoa in contemporary anthropological
English, or in the Creek languages, Tvmvkoa. Then we have an OMG moment.
“Tama” – pronounced Tä/ : mä/ – means to barter, buy or trade in Totonac.
“Koa” means “people or ethnic group” in several Arawak and South American
languages. It means exactly the same as the name of the Tamatli, a very
powerful branch of the Itsate Creeks on the Altamaha River in SE Georgia, whose
capital was Tama. Apparently, Tamacoa was a generic Arawak label for
“merchant people” and did not necessarily correspond to one ethnic group.
While the names of the villages along the coast of South Carolina, Georgia, and
northeastern Florida have generally been treated as being “untranslatable” by
anthropologists, they actually have meanings. However, some are Muskogean,
some are Mayan, some are Calusan, some are Arawak, some are Wareo [Peru],
some are Tupi-Guarani [Brazil] and some are Quechua [Peru]. This fact strongly
suggests that at various times in the past, bands of wandering peoples came
both from the west and the south to occupy unclaimed islands or habitable
terrain. It was a polyglot region that absorbed and modified cultural traditions
from many parts of the Americas.614
Sorenson note of ancient trading between Peru and Central America:
Archaeologists only recently learned that metal was being worked in Peru as
early as 1900 BC, and it was being traded in Ecuador before 1000 BC [J. W.
Grossman, "An Ancient Gold Worker's Tool Kit: The Earliest Metal Technology in
Peru," Archaeology 25 (1972):270-75; A. C. Paulsen, "Prehistoric Trade between
614
“Totonac, Maya, Arawak, Tupi-Guarani and Quechua Mercantile Words in the Indigenous Languages of the
Southeastern United States” (May 27, 2013) www.peopleofonefire.com, accessed 2013.
252
South Coastal Ecuador and other Parts of the Andes" (Paper read at 1972 Annual
Meeting, Society for American Archaeology). Dates given in these papers need to
be corrected backward to accord with bristle-cone pine corrections.] At the same
time, all Mesoamerican scholars agree that intercommunication with Peru and
Ecuador occurred over a period of thousands of years. Some definitely believe
that it was via these voyages that metalworking reached Mexico and
Guatemala...”
Undoubtedly the Nephites and Lamanites bloodlines represented only a very thin veneer that
ruled over a large populace of aboriginals. The same is probably true for the Polynesians.
Hagoth and other Peruvian traders would have made a very small dent in the aborigines’
bloodlines; however, they did make a dent. In each case any Hebrew DNA was but a mere drop
of Israelite blood in an ocean of endogenous DNA. However thin it might be, the seeds of Lehi’s
descendants would have spread like wildfire throughout the Americas. Over the millennia,
hundreds or even thousands of trading missions must have taken place between South
America, Central America ,North America, and between the Americas and the islands of the
Pacific. Such traders, refugees, or simply curious explorers would have settled and intermarried
among new populations.
Lehi had six sons and a number of daughters. Let’s assume Lehi and an equal number of
daughters in his family, making the total number of children to be twelve. The brother of Jared
begat twenty-two children. Given this pattern, how many grand-children, great-grandchildren,
etc. do you think they had? Within a few generations the numbers become staggering.
As a hypothetical example, let’s imagine that Samuel the Lamanite, a wanted man, fled the land
of Zarahemla and took his wife to Central America in c. 5 BC. Imagine that they had a relatively
small family for their time, say six children, four of which
survived to bear families of a similar size. Let’s assume
that this pattern continued until Columbus arrived and
each new generation was separated by an average of
thirty years. If only 1% of Samuel’s descendants married
someone who was not another blood descendant of
Samuel and his wife, their seed, the seed of Lehi, would
have been spread ever so thin to over two trillion people.
That means up to two trillion ancestors of Samuel and his
wife would have been alive and ready to greet Columbus
when he arrived in the Americas. Of course, that many
people have never lived on the earth; however, it
illustrates the impact of just one married couple
spreading their bloodlines among an indigenous
population. Yet Samuel would have been only one of
many. Consider the impact of Hagoth’s migrants on the
Polynesian people. Or what if the Jaredites had migrated
in mass to Central America to avoid the great wickedness
253
of the Jaredites circa 1500 BC?
Are the Timucua Indians of the south Atlantic Coast of the United States descendants of Lehi or
the brother of Jared? How about the Blackfoot Indians of Idaho or the descendants of the Maya
in Mexico or the Navajo Tribes, are they direct descendants of Lehi?, I believe the answer is yes
for all Native Americans, and for the same reason I am a direct descendent of Ephraim. While
my genealogy indicates that I come from English, Scottish, Irish, German, Swiss, Danish and
French ancestry, somewhere in history a descendant of Ephraim became part of my family tree.
As few in number as the original tribe of Ephraim must have been, its small numbers wandered
the nations and mixed with the people (Hosea 7:8; 8:8-10, 9 preface).
So what can be concluded from the mathematics. It is highly likely that every Native American,
whether north or south of Panama, as well as every living Polynesian, has a distant ancestor
named Lehi or the brother of Jared.
Regardless of whether a Native American has a bloodline extending back to Lehi, they are the
descendants of a chosen people whose ancestors were righteous pioneers who were led by the
Lord to a promised land. Father Lehi taught that, “Yea, the Lord hath covenanted this land unto
me, and to my children forever, and also all those who should be led out of other countries by
the hand of the Lord (2 Nephi 1:5).”
Our Lord, Jesus Christ, wants each of us to return to our Father in Heaven. He has provided us a
safety manual that can lead us safely back to his heavenly home. Through the enormous efforts
of his prophets from Nephi to Mormon, to Moroni and finally Joseph Smith, Jr., we have today
this precious book. If we follow the principles that were first engraved on plates of gold, we can
accomplish our most important journey. Of course, our safety manual is the Book of Mormon.
As its introduction explains: “It puts forth the doctrines of the gospel, outlines the plan of
salvation, and tells men what they must do to gain peace in this life and eternal salvation in the
life to come.” May we cherish the Book of Mormon, and show our appreciation for it by
developing a deep understanding of its principles and by living our lives in accordance with
them. May we reflect the Book of Mormon’s primary purpose in our lives by developing a
deeper faith in our Savior Jesus Christ and by being his sons and daughters, true Christians,
after His way.
254
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266
About the author:
George Potter has lived 26 years in Saudi Arabia. During the last 24
years he has traveled over 50,000 miles on the sandy trails of Arabia
researching Lehi’s Trail. He co-authored with Richard Wellington
(UK) the book Lehi in the Wilderness, 81 new documented evidences
the Book of Mormon is a true history. The first person to endorse the
book was Professor Hugh Nibley. George has authored or co-
authored, Ten More Amazing Discoveries, Nephi in the Promised
Land, and the Voyages of the Book of Mormon. With Timothy Sedor
he has produced 13 documentary films on his research. He is
president of the Nephi Project and the primary author of its monthly
newsletter. For more information on his research and to sign up for his free newsletter, see
www.nephiproject.com.
Cedar Fort Inc., published George’s Christmas Story, The Wise Men of Bountiful, which is a
family Christmas Story based on his research that the most likely way the Wise Men knew of
the Messiah’s birth is that their forefathers were taught of it by Lehi. In addition his newest
book, 10 More Amazing Discoveries will be published later this fall.
George is also writing a series of novels based on his adventures in Arabia. The first book in the
series is The White Bedouin, again published by Cedar Fort Inc.
George’s books and films are available on the Nephi Project website, www.nephiproject.com,
through Brigham Distributing, or by requesting an order from your local LDS bookstore.
Before his mission to Bolivia-Peru, Brother Potter attended BYU. After his mission he
transferred to the University of California at San Diego, UCSD where he graduated with high
honors. Leaving San Diego, he attended the University of California, Berkeley where he received
an MBA degree. Professionally, he is a CPA and now works as an executive leadership
consultant for the Saudi Electricity Company. He and his wife Cristina are the parents of 9
children. Their home in the United States is Elk Ridge, Utah.
Brother Potter first published his discovery of what he believes is the Valley of Lemuel in the
FARMS-BYU Journal of Book of Mormon Studies (November 1999). FARMS-BYU also published
his model for Lehi’s Trail. Since 1999, he has given presentations for the LDS Chaplains
Conference, FARMS-BYU, FAIR Conference, BYU Alumni Association of Los Angeles, the Ancient
Americas Foundation, LDS Church Office Building – Sponsored by the Ensign, and numerous LDS
stakes and LDS singles groups.
If you would like your stake or ward to host a fireside with Brother Potter, or to have a
presentation to a group in your home, please contact him by email at
[email protected].
267

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Book of Mormon Archaeology

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The Book of Mormon

Explorer George D. Potter

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Introduction: Why believe the Book of Mormon 5

1. The Book of Mormon’s Accurate Description of the Ancient Frankincense Trail 15

Open Rights for Translation

Joseph Smith (Translator of the Book of Mormon)

Why Believe the Book of Mormon

A Remarkable Book about Exceptional People

Viracocha, the Fair-Skinned God of the Andes

Patience with emerging of DNA technology

Advances of Ancient DNA Analysis

Could Joseph Smith Have Authored the Book of Mormon?

She added to her son:

So, why believe the Book of Mormon

The Book of Mormon’s Accurate Description of the Ancient Frankincense Trail

Nephi described in some detail his family’s

Only one trail existed down western Arabia in

Into the Wilderness

The Borders Near and Nearer the Red Sea

Valley of Lemuel – River Laman

Returning to Dr. Nibley’s insights on the place name Shazer.

Figure 3 Map Egyptus showing Segir

Most Fertile Parts

The Lehyanites of the Muhajirun

Unfortunately, archaeologists have written the name of

During a visit to the Ula valley in 2005, we found that the

The River of Laman

Firm, Steadfast and Immovable Valley

The Ruins of a Camp Site

An Altar of Stones in the Valley of Lemuel

The soil of the Salalah coastal plain is remarkably rich and

‘Beast’ and ‘Meat’ in the land of Bountiful

Shipbuilding site where a ship could be built above calm water

A Way (Ramp) where a ship could be lowered into the water

Nephi wrote "And it came to pass that the voice of

A breakwater allowing a large ship to safely enter the ocean

According to the US and German archaeologists

Conducting Sea Trials

Having reflagged (changed ownership or re-commissioned overhauled ships) and dry-docked

Iron ore for forging tools and flint

Long straight hardwoods for shipbuilding

Hardwood, or an impermeable softwood, was an absolute requirement for the building of a

Open-ocean sea captains who taught Nephi to sail

Rabbi Shim’on ben Laqish listed elements necessary for

Financing Nephi’s Ship

The S/V Nephi

To appreciate Brother Dickson’s love for

Why such a huge effort? Conrad is

The Temple at Khor Rori

All that remains today of the temple at Khor Rori is its

A Mountain of Exceeding Height

White Clear Stones

The Jaredites were a “Very Large Race of Men

The Curious Names of …the Brother of Jared

Did the Jaredites build their barges at Khor Rori?

Figure 18 Ali Al-Shahri's sharing his family's genealogy

The Jaredite Barges